Field  Columbian  Museum 

Publication  No.  83 

Anthropological  Series  Vol.   Ill,   No.  4 


THE  ORAIBI  SUMMER  SNAKE 
CEREMONY 


H.    R.    VOTH 

Department  of  Anthropology 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

rEB17lQ30 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

THE  STANLEY  McCORMICK  HOPI  EXPEDITION 


George  A.   Dorsey 

Curator,  Department  of  Antliropology 


Chicago,  U.  S.  A. 
November,  1903 


1 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Pl.  CXLVIII.    (Frontispiece).   The  Third  Mesa  with  Oraibi. 

The  view  is  taken  from  the  east ;  the  distance  is  about  one  mile.  In  the 
foreground  may  be  seen  to  the  right  the  beginning  of  a  mesa,  to  the  left  and  in 
the  centre  peach  orchards  and  bean  patches.  In  the  background  is  the  mesa, 
which  is  about  four  hundred  feet  high,  and  on  the  top  of  which,  somewhat  to  the 
right,  is  perched  the  ancient  village  of  Ordibi,  the  largest  of  the  seven  H6pi  vil- 
lages, with  a  population  of  about  eight  hundred  people.  In  the  centre  of  the 
picture  may  be  seen,  meandering  through  sand  hills,  orchards,  fields,  and  up  the 
mesa,  the  principal  trail  to  the  village,  which,  for  generations,  has  been  used  by 
the  water-carrier  to  springs,  by  the  priest  to  distant  shrines,  by  the  tiller  of  the 
soil  to  his  little  fields  in  the  valley,  and  by  the  visitor  to  the  neighboring  villages 
of  Tusayan,  and  to  the  distantly  located  ones  of  the  befriended  Pueblo  and  Zuni 
Indians. 


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Field  Columbian  Museum 

Publication  No.  83 

Anthropological  Series  Vol.   Ill,   No.  4 


THE  ORAIBI  SUMMER  SNAKE 
CEREMONY 


BY 

H.     R.     VOTH 
Department  of  Anthropology 
THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  * 

FEB  17  1938 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILUNOIS 

THE  STANLEY  McCORMICK  HOPI  EXPEDITION 
George  A.   Dorsey 

Curator,  Department  of  Anthropology 


Chicago,   U.  S.   A. 
November,  1903 


Go  p.  2/ 


THE  ORAIBI   SUMMER  SNAKE  CEREMONY 


BY 
H.    R.    VOTH 


CONTENTS. 

Curator's  Note 
I,     Preface         ...... 

II.     Introduction     ...... 

III.  Time  of  the  Ceremony 

IV.  The  Preliminary  Ceremony  (Bdholawu)    . 

1.  Bdholawu  of  1896   . 

2,  Bdholawu  of  1898 
V.     Participants  ..... 

VI.     First  Ceremonial  Day       .... 
VII.    Second  Ceremonial  Day 
VIII.    Third  Ceremonial  Day 
IX.    Fourth  Ceremonial  Day 
X.     Fifth  Ceremonial  Day       .         .         .         .         . 

1.  General  Remarks  .... 

2.  Proceedings  in  the  Snake  Kiva  in  1896 

3.  Proceedings  in  the  Snake  Kiva  in  1898 

4.  Proceedings  in  the  Antelope  Kiva  in  1896  . 

5.  Proceedings  in  the  Antelope  Kiva  in  1898 

6.  Mutual  Evening  Ceremony  in  the  Antelope  Kiva 
XI.     Sixth  Ceremonial  Day  ...... 

XII.  Seventh  Ceremonial  Day  ...... 

XIII.  Eighth  Ceremonial  Day         ...... 

XIV.  Ninth  Ceremonial  Day  .         .         .         .         .         . 

XV.  The  Snake  Legend        ....... 

XVI.    The  Snake  Antidote 


Page 
267 
271 

273 
274 
274 
275 
278 
281 
285 
289 
291 
294 
296 
296 
296 
300 
301 
307 
309 
313- 
315 
321 

336 
349 
353 


NOTE. 

The  paper  here  presented  on  the  Oraibi  Snake  and 
Antelope  Ceremonies,  by  Mr.  H.  R.  Voth,  is  in  con- 
tinuation of  the  series  of  publications  begun  in  1901,  by 
Mr.  Voth  among  the  Hopi,  under  a  liberal  provision 
made  by  Mr.  Stanley  McCormick,  to  whom  the  gratitude 
of  this  department  and  the  Museum  is  herewith  cheer- 
fully acknowledged.  George  A.    Dorsey, 

Curator^  Dept.  of  Anthropology. 
Chicago,  November,  1903. 


267 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Plate  Opposite  Page 

CXLVIII.  The  Third  Mesa  with  Ordibi        .         .  Frontispiece 

CXLIX.  The  Village  of  Ordibi  from  the  South      .  271 

CL.  A,  Kiaktiwa;  B,  Macdngontiwa    ......  273 

CLI.  A,  Puhonomtiwa;  B,  Sikdhongniwa          ....  273 

CLIl.  A,  Home  of  the  Spider  Clan;  B,  A  Village  Crier          .  275 

CLI  1 1.  Priest  Depositing  Bdhos  at  the  Shrine  of  Spider  Woman  276 

CLIV.  Lanva  (Flute  Spring)  .         .         .         .  .281 

CLV.  A,  Ndtsis  at  the  Antelope  Kiva;  B,  Ndtsis  at  the  Snake  Kiva  285 

CLV'I.  Snake  Hunters  Leaving  the  Snake  Kiva      ....  286 

CLVIL  The  Snake  Altar 287 

CLVIII.  Snake  Hunters  Leaving  the  Village 294 

CLIX.  Snake  Hunters  in  the  Field                                          .         .  294 

CLX.  The  Aodt  (Bow)  \dtsi  in  Position 296 

CLXL  The  Snake  Altar  with  Sand  Mosaic          .         .         .         .  ^98 

CLXIL  The  Antelope  Altar  with  Sand  Mosaic  (Fifth  Day)       .         .  302 

CLXin.  The  Antelope  Altar  with  Sand  Mosaic  tEighth  Day)        .  302 

CL.XIV.  Singing  Ceremony  in  the  Antelope  Kiva               .         .         .  309 

CLXV.  A,  Lightning   Frame    Folded;    B,  Lightning  Frame  Open  317 

CLXVL  Spectators  Awaiting  the  Racers           .....  325 

CLXV  I L  Racers  Arriving  at  the  Edge  of  the  Mesa        .  325 

CLXVIIL  Priests  Sprinkling  Racers  with  Meal  .....  325 

CLXIX.  Priests  Sprinkling  Racers  with  Meal       ....  325 

CL.XX.  A  Corn-Stalk  Bearer 326 

CLXXL  Corn-Stalk  Bearers  Approaching  the  Village  .                   .  326 

'^     CLXXII.  Waiting  for  the  Corn-Stalk  Bearers     .....  326 

^   CLXXUI.  The  Corn-stalk  Wrangle 326 

CLXXIV.  The  Corn-stalk  Wrangle     .......  326 

CLXXV.  Priest  Handmg  Prayer  Offerings  to  the  Race  Winner  326 

CLXXVL  Warriors  Twirling  the  Bull  Roarer      .....  327 

CLXXV H.  A,  Off  for  Cottonwood  Branches;    B,  Taking  a  Charmed 

Child  into  the  Kiva      .......  330 

CLXXV^III.  Constructing  the  Snake  Booth  330 

CLXXIX.  A,  Priest  Depositing  a  Biho  under  the  Plank:  B,  A  Katcina 

Shrine      .........  330 

CLX.XX.  Antelope  Priests  Emerging  from  the  Kiva  ....  334 

CLXXXL  Antelope  Priests  Circling  around  in   Front  of  the  Booths  334 

CLXXXn.  A,  Snake  Priest  Circling  around  in  Front  of  the  Booths;  B, 

Snake  and  Antelope  Priests  in  Front  of  the  Booths.  335 

CLXXXHL  Snake  Priests  Circling  around  in  Front  of  the  Booths          .  335 

CLXXXIV.  Snake  and  Antelope  Priests  Singing                  .         .  335 

CLXXXV.  Snake  Priests  in  Stooped  Position        .....  335 

CLXXXVL  The  Asperger  Leaves  the  Line  of  Dancers                        .  335 

CLXXXVH.  The  Asperger  and  Snake  Chief  Performing                  .         .  335 

269 


Illustrations. 


270 


Plate 
CLXXXVIII. 

CLXXXIX. 

CXC. 

CXCI. 

CXCII. 

CXCIII. 

CXCIV. 

cxcv. 

CXCVI. 

CXCVII. 

CXCVIII. 

CXCIX. 

cc. 

CCI. 

ecu. 

CCIII. 
CCIV. 

ccv. 

CCVI. 

CCVII. 

CCVIII. 

CCIX. 

CCX. 

CCXI. 

CCXII. 

CCXIII. 

CCXIV. 

ccxv. 

CCXVI. 

CCXVII. 

CCXVIII. 

CCXIX. 


A,  The  Snake  Dancers  in  Line;  B,  Asperger  Dancing  with 
the  Vines     ......... 

Spectators  at  the  Edge  of  the  Mesa 

A,  Awaiting  the  Racers;  B,  Racers      . 

Snake  Priests  Coming  from  the  Antelope  Kiva 

A,  Women  Filling  the  Water  Jars;  B,  The  Snake  Kiva 

Scenes  in  the  Snake  Kiva 

Snake  Priests  Washing  their  Heads    . 

Herding  the  Snakes         .... 

Antelope  Priests  in  their  Kiva     . 

Antelope  Priests  in  Line 

The  Chief  Antelope  Priest  and  Asperger 

The  Snake  Priests  Arriving  at  the  Plaza 

The  Snake  Priests  Circling  around  before  the  Kiva 

Both  Platoons  in  Action  (showing  lateral  motion) 

Both  Platoons  in  Action  (upright  position)  . 

The  "Snake  Dance" 

The 

The 

The 

The 


'Snake  Dance"    . 

'Snake  Dance" 

'Snake  Dance"    . 

'Snake  Dance" 
Releasing  a  Snake 
Sprinkling  a  Snake  with  Meal 
Picking  up  a  Snake     . 
Snake  Gatherers 
Women  with  Sacred  Meal  . 
Maidens  with  Sacred  Meal 
A,  Racer  Arriving  at  the  Kiva;  B,  Meal  Circle 
Final  Gathering  Up  of  Snakes 
Snake  Priest  Returning  to  the  Kiva 
Women  Bringing  Emetic  to  the  Kiva 
"Purification"      .... 
Two  Flute  Priests  .... 


Page 

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33'> 
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-^46 
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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


PL.  CXLIX.    The  Village  of  Oraibi. 

This  view  is  taken  from  the  south-west.  In  the  foreground  may  be  seen  a 
few  burro  corrals,  and  to  the  left  one  of  the  principal  trails.  It  leads  to  the  fields 
that  are  located  south  and  south-east  of  the  village,  to  the  shrine  of  Spider  Woman, 
frequently  mentioned  in  this  paper,  and  over  this  trail  the  Snake  priests  leave  the 
village  when  they  go  to  hunt  snakes  south  of  the  village,  and  also  those  who  take 
the  snakes  south  from  the  village  after  the  public  performance  on  the  ninth  day. 


■iM&^^l^^  ■ 


PREFACE. 

Of  the  many  rites  and  performances  in  the  Hopi  ceremonial 
calendar,  none  is  perhaps  better  known — in  a  general  way — than  the 
Snake  ceremony.  This  is  not  to  be  taken  as  evidence,  however,  that 
the  Snake  celebration  is  the  most  important  of  all  the  Hopi  ceremoni- 
als, because  there  are  others  that  are  more  complicated  and  play  a 
greater  part  in  '^the  ceremoniology  of  the  Hopi  than  the  Snake  cere- 
mony. But  the  fact  that  no  other  rite  is  attended  by  such  a  sensa- 
tional public  performance  as  may  be  witnessed  in  the  "last  act"  of 
the  Snake  ceremony,  in  the  so-called  "Snake  dance,"  is  the  reason 
that  has  brought  this  celebration  to  the  foreground  and  that  it  has 
been  witnessed  by  far  more  white  people  than  any  other  Hopi 
ceremony. 

In  Oraibi,  as  well  as  in  the  other  Hopi  villages,  this  "Snake 
dance"  is  preceded  by  a  preliminary  ceremony  which  takes  place  six- 
teen days  before  and  by  a  nine-day  ceremony  which  commences  eight 
days  before  the  Snake  dance.  These  secret  ceremonies  have  thus  far 
been  witnessed,  as  far  as  Oraibi  is  concerned,  by  very  few  white  people. 

On  the  First  and  Second  Mesas,  Dr.  J.  W.  Fewkes,  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  Washington,  has  made  extensive  studies  not  only  of  the 
Snake,  but  of  other  ceremonies.  In  Mishongnovi  the  Snake  ceremony 
has  been  observed  throughout  by  Dr.  G.  A.  Dorsey  and  the  author  of 
this  paper,  and  the  results  of  these  last-named  studies  have  been  pub- 
lished in  a  special  monograph  by  this  Museum. 

On  the  Third  Mesa,  on  which  Oraibi,  the  largest  Hopi  village,  is 
situated  (PI.  149),  no  white  person  had  ever  been  permitted  to  witness 
the  secret  part  of  the  Snake  ceremony  until  the  writer  of  this  paper 
gained  admittance  in  August,  1896.  He  has  since  then  been  permitted 
not  only  to  witness  the  ceremony  in  the  different  years,  but  also  to  take 
full  notes  and  pictures,  and  make  sketches,  etc.  On  a  few  occasions 
he  has  obtained  the  permission  of  the  priests  to  admit  a  few  others  to 
the  kiva  rites  for  short  periods,  one  of  them  being  Dr.  P.  Ehrenreich 
of  Berlin,  Germany;  but  the  entire  ceremony  and  the' preliminary 
ceremonies  have  unfortunately  never  been  studied  by  any  one  but  the 
author,  and  while  he  does  not  claim  that  his  studies  are  exhaustive 
and  complete,  they  are  perhaps  nearly  so,  and  hence  he  accedes  to  the 
requests  to  publish  the  result  of  his  observations,  that  have  repeatedly 
been  made  by  ethnologists  and  others. 

271 


272  Preface. 

Besides  th6  Summer  Snake  ceremony,  which  is  the  one  usually 
meant  when  the  Hopi  Snake  dance  is  mentioned,  there  exists  a  Winter 
Snake  ceremony,  which  also  lasts  nine  days  and  is  celebrated  in  Janu- 
ary of  the  same  year  in  which  the  summer  ceremony  is  celebrated. 
This  winter  celebration,  however,  has  thus  far  been  studied  only  partly. 
It  may  be  stated  in  a  general  way  that  this  winter  ceremony  does  not 
differ  essentially  from  the  summer  celebration.  The  same  kivas  are 
used,  the  same  altars  put  up,  the  same  songs  chanted  as  far  as  observed, 
etc.  But  no  snakes  are  used,  and  instead  of  the  public  performance 
by  the  Snake  and  Antelope  Fraternities  on  the  ninth  day,  a  Katcina 
dance  usually  takes  place.  These  two  ceremonies  always  take  place 
in  Oraibi  in  the  years  of  even  numbers.  In  the  years  of  uneven  num- 
bers a  one-day  ceremony  takes  place,  called  "Baholawu"  (baho  mak- 
ing). This  one-day  celebration^  is  practically  the  same  as  the  Baho- 
lawu  that  precedes  the  Snake  ceremony,  and  which  is  fully  described 
in  the  following  pages. 

The  summer  ceremony  herein  described  was  observed  three  times 
— in  1896,  1898,  and  1900 — and  the  fact  that  the  author  speaks  the 
language  of  the  people  enabled  him  to  obtain  his  information, 
aside  from  what  he  personally  saw,  from  the  priests  direct,  and  with- 
out the  aid  of  an  interpreter.  This  and  the  fact  that  these  observa- 
tions were,  at  least  to  a  large  extent,  based  upon  the  personal  confidence 
these  people  had  in  the  author,  it  is  hoped,  will  compensate  for  any 
lack  of  completeness  in  these  notes.  , 

'  A  paper  on  the  different  one-day  ceremonies  in  Oraibi  is  in  preparation. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


Pl.  CL.   Two  Chief  Snake  Priests. 

A.  Kuktiwa. 

B.  Macdngontiwa. 


.BwhdoJI     .A 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Pl.  CLI.   Two  Chief  Snake  Priests. 

A.  PohOnomtiwa. 

B.  Sikibongniwa. 


.3T?-amS  3nMB  ^sihO  owT   .IJO  .j'=^ 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Snake  ceremony  takes  place  in  Oraibi,  as  in  the  other  villages, 
every  other  year,  alternating  with  the  great  and  complicated  Flute 
ceremony.  The  number  of  participants,  however,  has  in  later  years 
been  smaller  than  in  the  other  villages.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
a  part  of  the  members  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  in  Ordibi  belong  to  the 
conservative  or  hostile  faction  (so-called  because  they  are  opposed  to 
schools,  building  of  American  houses,  etc.),  and  a  part  to  the  faction 
that  are  friendly  to  the  Americans  and  take  kindly  to  the  plans  of  the 
Indian  Department.  The  relation  between  these  two  factions  is  of 
such  a  nature  that  they  will  very  seldom  co-operate  in  a  ceremony. 
For  instance,  the  leaders  and  the  sacred  paraphernalia  of  such  Soci- 
eties as  the  Soyal,  Powamu,  Ooqol,  and  others,  belonging  to  the  liberal 
party,  only  very  few  of  the  conservatives  will  participate  in  any  of 
those  ceremonies;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  very  seldom  a  liberal  will 
take  part  in  such  ceremonies  as  the  Blue  Flute,  Snake,  etc.,  which  are 
controlled  by  the  conservative  faction.  Not  a  single  member  of  the 
liberal  faction  has  participated  in  the  Snake  ceremony  in  Oraibi  for 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years.  This  applies  to  both  Fraternities,  the 
Snake  and  the  Antelope,  with  the  exception  that  in  1900  one  young 
man,  belonging  to  the  liberal  faction,  was  one  of  the  participants  in 
the  Antelope  kiva.' 

These  observations  were  made  under  two  different  Chief  Snake 
priests,  twice  under  Macdngontiwa  (see  B,"  PI.  150)  and  once  under 
Puhdnomtiwa  (see  A,  PI.  15 1 ),  who  acted  as  chief  priest  for  the  first  time 
in  1900.  There  are  at  present  four  Chief  Snake  priests  living  in  Ordibi : 
Kdktiwa(see  A, PI.  150), who  lost  his  position  when  the  rupture  occurred 
between  the  two  factions,  and  he  identified  himself  with  the  liberal 
faction;  Macangcintiwa,  who  incurred  the  ill  will  of  the  Antelope  priest 
and  had  a  quarrel  with  him,  that  led  to  his  disqualification  as  chief 
priest  and  even  as  participant  in  the  ceremony  of  1900;  Puhtlnomtiwa, 
who  acted  as  chief  priest  in  that  year,  but  on  account  of  a  quarrel  with 
his  wife  was  considered  unworthy  to  do  so  in  1902;  and  Sik^hongniwa, 
one  of  the  older  priests,  who  was  installed  as  chief  priest  for  the  cere- 
mony in  the  last-named  year.  (See  B,  PI.  151.)  It  remains  to  be 
seen    who  will  act   as  chief    priest  in    1904,    but   in   all    probability, 

•  For  further  explanations  on  this  point  see  Introduction  to  "The  Oraibi  SoyAl  Ceremony," 
Vol.  III.,  No.  I,  published  by  the  Museum. 

273 


274       Field  Columbian  Museum— Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

Puhtinomtiwa,  who,  under  normal  circumstances,  will  also  retain  the 
office  permanently. 

TIME  OF  THE  CEREMONY. 

The  Snake  ceremony  takes  place  in  every  alternate  year  in  the 
villages  of  Oraibi,  Shongopavi,  Shipaiilovi,  Mishongnovi,  and  Walpi; 
in  the  first  three  in  the  years  of  even,  in  the  last  two  in  the  years  of 
uneven  numbers.  The  date  6i  a  Snake  ceremony  is  partly  regulated 
by  the  Niman  Katcina  (Departing  Katcina)  ceremony  in  July,  the 
preliminary  Snake  ceremony  usually  taking  place  on  the  fourth  day 
after  the  public  Niman-Katcina  dance.  This  rule,  however,  is  not 
without  exceptions.  The  condition  of  the  crops  (especially  of  the 
melon  crops)  and  other  matters  enter  into  the  consideration  of  the 
date.  If  the  drought  is  very  great  and  the  crop  suffers,  the  ceremony 
is  sometimes  somewhat  hastened;  if  such  is  not  the  case,  a  few  days 
are  sometimes  given  the  melon  crop  to  mature  a  little  better.  In  1898 
the  drought  was  severe,  and  when  the  Snake  priest  still  delayed  the 
announcement  of  the  ceremony  considerable  uneasiness  was  manifested 
in  the  village,  and  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  old  priest  to 
hasten  the  ceremony  and  thus  to  secure  for  the  perishing  crop  the 
much  needed  rain.  The  following  table  shows  the  dates  of  the  Snake 
ceremony  in  Oraibi  from  the  year  1896: 

In  1896,    from  August  11  to  August  19. 
In  1898,    from  August  14  to  August  22. 
In  1900,    from  August  11  to  August  19. 
In  1902,^  from  August  18  to  August  26. 
The  principal  ceremony,  which  lasts  nine  days,  is  preceded  by  a 
preliminary  ceremony,  which  will  be  described  in  a  special  chapter. 
This  takes  place  nine  days  before  the  first  day  of  the  principal  cere- 
mony, not  counting  this  first  ceremonial  day;  so  that,  for  instance,  in 
1896  and   1900  it  took  place  on  the   2d,   in  1898  on  the  5th,  day  of 
August. 

THE  PRELIMINARY  CEREMONY   (BAHOLAWU). 

As  so  few  of  the  preliminary  Hopi  ceremonials  have  thus  far  been 
observed  and  still  fewer  have  been  described  in  print,  it  has  been 
thought  best  to  describe  each  of  these  ceremonies  separately. 

>  The  ceremony  of  1902  was  not  observed,  as  the  author  was  absent  from  OrAibi,  and  no  one,  I 
understand,  was  allowed  to  witness  any  of  the  secret  ceremonies. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN   MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLll. 


Pl.  CLII.   Views  in  Oraibi. 

A.  The  ancestral  home  of  the  Spider  clan. 

B.  A  Crier  making  an  announcement. 


Nov.,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  275 

1— BAHOLAWU  OF  1896. 

This  took  place  on  August  2d.  Early  in  the  morning  of  that  day 
the  following  men  assembled  in  the  house  which  is  considered  as  the 
ancestral  home  of  the  Antelope  Fraternity,  or  rather  of  the  Kohkang 
Wiihti  (Spider  Woman)  clan  (see  A,  PI.  152): 

Tobdngotiwa,      Chief  Antelope  priest. 

Sihongwa,  Antelope  member. 

Kiwanhoya,  Antelope  member. 

Mokahtiwa,  Antelope  member. 

Macangontiwa,    Chief  Snake  priest. 

PQhiinomtiwa,     Snake  member. 

Nuwakwahu,        Snake  member, 

Sikahongniwa,  Snake  memb'er. 
The  place  where  the  priests  assembled  was  a  room  in  the  second 
story  of  the  house.  The  two  chief  priests  brought  with  them  some 
pipes,  tobacco,  plume  boxes,  sticks,  paint,  and  twine  for  making  bahos, 
corn-meal,  etc.  Some  of  the  men  also  brought  some  meal  and  feath- 
ers. All  first  smoked  a  while  and  then  went  to  making  bahos  and 
nakwakwosis.  Of  these  the  following  were  made,  as  far  as  I  could 
ascertain: 

1.  By  the  Chief  Antelope  priest:  Four  double,  green  bahos;  four 
nakwdkwosis,  stained  red;  and  one  pflhu. 

2.  By  the  Chief  Snake  priest:  Three  double,  green  bahos;  four 
nakwakwosis,  stained  red;  and  one  pdhu,  stained  yellow. 

3.  By  the  other  men:  Six  nakwakwosis  by  each  man. 

As  soon  as  these  prayer  offerings  were  finished  they  were  placed 
on  a  tray  and  then  all  smoked,  blowing  the  smoke  towards  the  tray, 
A  considerable  quantity  of  sacred  meal  was  then  put  on  the  prayer 
offerings,  whereupon  they  were  deposited  at  various  places.  I  could, 
of  course,  only  go  with  one  party,  but  was — reliably,  I  believe — 
informed  that  these  prayer  offerings  were  disposed  of  as  follows :  The 
Snake  priest  sent  one  man  north  to  the  shrine  of  Achamali  "and  one 
man  to  an  unidentified  place  west  of  the  village;  each  messenger 
taking  with  him  one  of  the  chief  priest's  bdhos  and  one  nakwdkwosi 
from  each  man.  The  Antelope  chief  priest  sent  one  man  to  Ldnva,'  a 
large  spring  west  of  the  village,  another  out  to  the  east  side  of  the 
village,  each  man  taking  one  of  his  (the  chief  priest's)  bdhos  and  also 
a  nakwdkwosi  from  each  man.  The  Chief  Antelope  priest,  who  is  a 
member  of  the  Kdhkang  Wiihti  (Spider  Woman)  clan,  takes  his 
remaining  bdho,  the  four  red  nakwdkwosis,  the  road,  and  one  nakwdk- 

*  The  Flute  Society  also  have  extensive  ceremonies  at  the  spring  during  their  ceremonies. 


276       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

wosi  from  each  man  to  the  shrine  of  Spider  Woman,  where  he  deposits 
them.  (See  PI.  153.)  The  one  remaining  baho,  the  four  red  nakwdk- 
wosis,  and  the  road,  made  by  the  Chief  Snake  priest,  are  placed  on  a 
tray  and  taken  by  the  Snake  chief  to  the  house  of  the  chaakmongwi 
(crier;  lit.,  crier  chief),  where  it  remains  during  the  day.  The  present 
incumbent  of  that  position  is  Talaswungvnima,  the  brother-in-law  of 
Macangontiwa.  In  the  evening  the  following  men  are  supposed  to 
assemble  again,  but  this,  time  in  the  house  of  the  kikmongwi '  (chief 
of  the  houses)  so  called  because  he  is  considered  to  be  the  owner  of 
the  houses: 

The  Chief  Snake  priest,  of  the  Snake  clan. 

The  Assistant  Snake  priest,  of  the  Snake  clan. 

The  Kikmongwi,  of  the  Badger  clan. 

The  Crier,  of  the  Reed  clan. 

This  little  ceremony  in  the  kikmongwi's  house  is  called  "tihtin- 
gapya, "  and  is  here  described  as  a  participant  in  the  ceremony  gave 
it  to  the  author,  as  it  was  not  observed  by  him  personally.  My 
informant  says:  "The  tray  with  the  one  bdho,  four  nakwakwosis,  and 
one  pdhu  that  was  taken  to  the  crier's  house  in  the  morning  is  placed 
on  the  floor  and  all  present  squat  down  on  the  floor  around  it.  The 
kikmongwi  then  fills  a  pipe,  smokes,  and  then  hands  it  to  the  shiingva 
(assistant)  of  the  Snake  chief,  who  also  smokes,  handing  the  pipe  to 
the  crier  and  he  to  the  Snake  chief.  Hereupon  the  assistant  takes 
the  tray-,  holds  it  before  himself,  and  says  the  following  words,  which 
may  be  considered  a  prayer: 

"Pai  hapi  itam  yep  imui  ndlonang  mdmgwitu  itanamu  dmungem 
ytiyuha.  Hapi  owi  yahpi  it  akw  mongwacyakahkango  ka  hakami 
tiwi  'wisht,  ich  itamui  palaiy  akw  itamui  okwatotwani.  Pdu  hdpi  kush 
6vi  kdwuu  wihpinen  shdhkop  talat  6pak  ima  Tetitcutu,  Tcotcobtu  kuwa- 
naw  unangway  tawiyaniqay  pasionaya.  Owi  ydhpi  itam  ka  nanamahin 
unangwaykahka  yeshwani.  Nap  hakakwat  mongwit  yoiloki  akw  itamui 
okwatotwaqo;  put  akw  itam  mongwactotini.  Pai  owi  itam  yan  hakam 
tundtyaokahkang,  pai  hdhlailcahkang  ookaokahkang  yahpi  yeshwani ! 
Shopkakawat  sinomu  pai  hahlaikahkang,  ookdokahkang  yahpi 
yeshwani." 

translation. 

Now  we  have  for  these  different  chiefs  (the  Cloud  Gods),  our 
fathers,  prepared  (or  dressed  up)  these  prayer  (offerings).  There- 
fore, being  provided  with  these,  do  not  delay  anywhere,  but  quickly 

'  Since  the  present  kikmongwi  belongs  to  the  liberal  faction,  these  leaders  of  the  Snake  and 
.\ntelope  fraternities  who  belong  to  the  conservatives  hold  this  night  assembly  generally  in  the 
Antelope  kiva. 


This 


^:a'   |[>o>kil*')i:. 


..nt  Silo. 


PL.  CLIII.   Shrine  of  Spider  Woman. 
The  shrine  is  located  south-west  from  the  village,  about  half-way  down  the 
mesa.    A  number  of  prayer-offerings  may  be  seen  in  the  shrine,  and  in  front  of  it 
the  chief  Antelope  priest  in  the  act  of  depositing  others. 


ubrwy 

UNWERsirYof.LUNOlS 


Nov.,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  277 

have  pity  on  us  with  rain.  Now  then,  therefore,  sixteen  days  after 
to-morrow  then  these  Snakes  and  Antelopes,  if  they  have  a  good 
heart,  will  celebrate  or  will  agree  on  this  (ceremony).  Hence  from 
now  we  must  not  live  at  variance  with  each  other  (and  be  troubled).' 

If  (perchance)  some  chief  (cloud)  with  dropping  rain  have  pity  on 
us  and  on  that  (by  means  of  that)  we  subsist.  Now,  therefore,  we 
thus  here  from  now  (or  henceforth)  being  concerned  (about  this), 
being  happy,  being  strong — shall  (continue  to)  live.  All  people  shall 
henceforth  live,  being  happy,  being  strong. 

The  assistant  then  hands  the  tray  to  the  kikmongwi  who,  my 
informant  says,  repeats,  practically  the  above  talk,  adding,  however, 
some  words.  This  talk  my  informant  did  not  know  by  heart.  The 
kikmongwi  hands  the  tray  to  the  crier  and  he  to  the  Snake  chief,  both 
of  whom  say  essentially  the  same  words  as  those  already  recorded, 
adding,  however,  some  words  of  their  own,  my  informant  says.  When 
all  have  prayed  the  smoking  is  repeated,  as  already  described,  and  the 
ceremony  is  over. 

The  crier  now  takes  the  tray  to  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Pakab 
Sfyamii  (Reed  clan),  where  it  remains  over  night.  Early  the  next 
morning  the  crier  takes  the  tray,  ascends  to  the  roof  of  the  house  from 
which  the  announcements  of  approaching  ceremonies  are  made,^ 
deposits  the  prayer  offerings  contained  in  his  tray  in  a  small  shrine 
that  is  situated  on  that  roof,  and  then  makes  the  announcement  of  the 
approaching  Snake  ceremony  in  the  following  words:  (SeeB,  PI.  152.) 

tJma  kwiniwui  kiyungkamu  ktikuiwa  huwamU!  tiwangae  kiyung- 
kamu  ktikuiwa  hdwamu!  tatoo  kiyungkamu  klikuiwa  huwamii!  hdpoo 
kiyungkamu  ktikuiwa  htiwamu!  Hapi  kush  yahpinen  shiihkop  talat 
€pak  ima  Tciitcutu,  Tcdfcoptu  kuwdnav  unangway  tawiyanigaq  pasion- 
aya.  Owi  passa  talat  akv,  itam  ka  nanamahin  unangwaykahkango 
y^shwaqo;  yan  nap  hakakwat  mongwit  yoiloki  akw  itdmui  okwatotwaqo 
put  akw  itam  yep  mdngwactotini. — M6ngwactotiniq6  tundtyaokahkango 
yahpi  y^shwani. — Shdpkawat  sinom  pai  hahlaikahkango,  ookdokah- 
kango. 

FREE    TRANSLATIOr^. 

You  who  live  north,  loom  up,  please!  (You),  who  live  west,  loom 
up,  please!  (You),  who  live  south,  loom  up,  please!  (You),  who  live 
east,  loom  up,  please.  Now  then,  after  this,  in  sixteen  days,  these 
Snakes,  Antelopes,  if  they  preserve  a  good   heart,  will  conclude  this. 

» The  word  in  the  Hopi  is  very  comprehensive;  it  may  mean  worry  (but  with  the  idea  that 
such  worrying  is  detrimental  to  others),  quarrel,  be  at  variance,  etc. 

*  This  house  is  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Kel  Nyamu  (Sparrow  Hawk)  clan,  and  of  the  Drab 
Flute  Society,  whose  altar  paraphernalia  are  here  kept. 


278      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  Ill, 

Hence  that  many  days  may  we  live  not  having  any  trouble  with  each 
other.  Thus  some  chiet  may  pity  us  with  some  dropping  rain.  On 
(by)  that  we  shall  subsist.  Being  concerned  that  they  may  subsist 
they  shall  live.  May  all  the  people  live  happily,  strongly,  or  encour- 
aged.' 

II -BAHOLAWU  OF  1898. 

This  preliminary  ceremony  took  place  on  August  5th,  sixteen 
days  before  the  public  Snake  ceremony,  I  was  up  in  the  village  at 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  found  all  whom  I  expected  to 
participate  in  the  ceremony  still  in  bed.  About  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  later,  however,  the  Chief  Antelope  priest,  Tobengotiwa  went  to 
the  house  of  his  niece,  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Spider  clan.  The 
woman  of  the  house  had  already  cleared  and  swept  an  upper  room  in 
which  Tobengotiwa  at  once  commenced  to  make  bahos.  About  fifteen 
minutes  later  the  Chief  Snake  priest,  Macdngontiwa,  came  in,  took  off 
his  moccasins,  loosened  his  hair,  and  then  also  began  to  manufacture 
bdhos.  Soon  other  men  came  in,  so  that  the  following  men  partici- 
pated: 

Tobengotiwa,      Chief  Antelope  priest. 
Mokahtiwa,  Antelope  member. 

Kiwanhoya,  Antelope  member. 

Sihongwa,  Antelope  member. 

Yukioma,  Antelope  member. 

Macangontiwa,    Chief  Snake  priest. 
C6kaoma,^  Snake  member. 

The  position  of  these  men  during  the  ceremony  is  shown  in  the 
following  diagram: 

34  I.    Yukioma, 

2**5  2.    Sihongwa. 

*  *  3-    Kiwanhoya. 

o  4.    Mokahtiwa. 

I  Tray  6  5.    Tobengotiwa. 

■ '        ,     *  *  6.    Macangontiwa. 

7  7.    Ctikaoma. 

* 

While  the  two  chief  priests  made  bahos  the  others  silently  waited, 
except  Ctikaoma  and  Kiwanhoya,  who  also  made  one  baho  each.      The 

'  The  peculiar  construction  of  the  sentences,  and  the  fact  that  several  of  the  words  may  meafi 
different  things  and  the  first,  second,  or  third  person  are  the  same,  makes  the  last  part  of  the  speech 
somewhat  obscure, 

^''     'Unfortunately  this  participant  is  not  named  in  my  notes,  but  my  recollectfon  is  that  it  was 
Cilkaoma. 


Nov.,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  279 

woman  of  the  house  was  sent  on  different  errands,  after  a  paint  mortar, 
turkey  feathers,  etc.  She  also  shelled  a  few  ears  of  white  corn  and 
ground  the  same  into  meal  to  be  used  in  the  ceremony. 

It  was  noticed  that  those  who  made  bdhos  took  a  small  quantity 
of  honey  into  their  mouths  as  soon  as  they  had  finished  cutting  the 
sticks  for  the  bahos,  spat  it  into  their  hands,  and  then  rubbed  their 
bodies  with  their  hands.  The  paint  for  the  bahos  was  prepared  by 
Tob^ngotiwa.  It  was  also  noticed  that  in  painting  the  tips  of  the 
bahos  always  the  two  sticks  (male  and  female)  belonging  together, 
were  taken  up  and  held  in  the  hand  together  while  the  tips  were  painted 
black.  When  the  bahos  were  about  finished  all  made  a  number  of 
nakwakwosis,  so  that  when  all  were  done  the  following  prayer  offerings 
had  been  made:  By  Tob^ngotiwa,  four  double,  green,  black-tipped 
bdhos,  about  four  and  one-half  inches  long  and  eight  ptlhus  (roads) ; 
Mokdhtiwa,  six  red  ^  pflhus  and  two  yellow' ones;  Kiwanhoya,  one 
bdho  like  Tob^ngotiwa's,  two  yellow  pflhus  and  eight  red  nakwdk- 
wosis;  Sihongwa,  two  yellow  pdhus  and  five  red  nakwdkwosis; 
Yukioma,  seven  yellow  pflhus  and  seven  red  nakwdkwosis;  Macangon- 
tiwa,  two  double  bdhos  (each  with  one  black  and  one  green  stick) 
about  five  inches  long,  two  yellow  pflhus  and  five  red  nakwdkwosis; 
Cflkaoma,  one  baho  (like  Macdngontiwa's,  but  a  trifle  shorter),  two 
yellow,  and  seven  red  pflhus. 

The  twine  and  a  part  of  the  feather  of  the  nakwdkwosis  on  all  the 
bdhos  was  stained  with  cflta,  a  red  mineral  paint. 

When  all  were  through  making  their  bdhos,  nakwdkwosis,  etc., 
these  prayer  offerings  were  placed  on  the  tray  in  the  following  order: 
Tob^ngotiwa,  one  baho  and  one  yellow  pflhu,  each  towards  the  north, 
west,  south,  and  east,  one  bdho  and  the  balance  of  the  pflhus  towards 
the  south-east;  Macdngontiwa,  one  bdho  north,  one  west,  two  pflhus 
south-west,  and  the  five  red  nakwakwosis  he  distributed  towards  the 
south,  east,  and  north-east;  Cflkaoma,  one  bdho  north,  two  yellow 
pAhus  south-west,  and  the  red  pflhus,  he  distributed  to  the  different 
points,  but  just  how  I  could  not  record,  as  several  were  distributing 
at  the  same  time;  Kiwdnhoya,  bdho  north,  the  two  yellow  pflhus  south- 
west, ana  the  red  nakwakwosis  to  different  points,  but  just  how,  I 
could  not  keep  track  of;  Sihongwa,  the  yellow  pflhus  to  the  south- 
west, the  red  nakwdkwosis  to  the  different  cardinal  points;  Yukioma 
placed  his  somewhat  differently,  but  I  could  not  follow  closely.  He 
put  none  towards  the  north-east,  this  may  have  been  due,  however,  to 
the  fact  that  Yukioma  participated  in  this  ceremony  for  the  first  time. 

•  The  terms  red  and  yellow  mean  here  that  the  strings  and  fuzzy  part  of  the  feathers  of  these 
prayer  offerings  were  stained  with  these  respective  colors. 


28o       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

It  was  now  about  a  quarter  past  seven  o'clock.  Molcahtiwa,  who 
acted  as  pipmongwi  (tobacco  priest  or  chief)  lit  a  pipe  at  the  fireplace, 
smoked  a  few  puffs,  and  then  handed  the  pipe  to  Tob^ngotiwa,  who 
smoked  a  while,  handing  the  pipe  to  Macangontiwa,  he  to  Ctikaoma, 
he  to  Yukioma,  and  he  to  Mokahtiwa,  who  cleaned  it  and  laid  it  on 
the  floor.  While  the  men  smoked,  they  exchanged,  as  usual,  terms 
of  relationship  as  follows: 

Tobengotiwa  to  MoKahtiwa:  ttii  (my  child),  Mokahtiwa  answer- 
ing: inaa  (my  father);  Macangontiwa  to  Tobengotiwa:  Itopko  (my 
younger  brother),  answer  by  Tobengotiwa :  Iwdwa  (my  elder  brother) ; 
C6kaoma  to  Macangontiwa:  inaa  (my  father),  answer:  Itii  (my  child) ; 
Yukioma  to  Ctikaoma:  ttii,  answer:  fnaa;  Sihongwa  to  Yukioma: 
Itahaa  (my  uncle — mother's  side),  answer:  Itiwayaa  (my  nephew); 
Kiwanhoya  to  Sihongwa:  inaa,  answer:  itii;  Molcahtiwa  to  Kiwanhoya: 
ikwaa  (my  grandfather),  answer:  inii  (my  grandchild). 

After  the  smoking,  all  put  some  corn-meal  on  the  tray  from  all 
directions,  Macangotiwa  also  "washing,"  as  it  were,  his  hands  in  corn- 
meal.  Tobengotiwa  thereupon  took  some  honey  into  his  mouth, 
whistled,  with  a  whistle  made  of  an  eagle  wing  bone,  five  times 
towards  the  tray,  rubbed  and  "washed"  his  hands  also  in  corn-meal, 
and  then  handed  the  tray  to  Macangontiwa.  The  latter  held  the  tray 
with  both  hands  in  front  of  himself,  uttered  a  short  prayer,  and  handed 
it  back  to  Tobengotiwa,  who  uttered  a  long  prayer  over  it,  and  again 
handed  it  back  to  Macangontiwa,  who  now  also  uttered,  in  a  low,  mur- 
muring tone,  a  long  prayer  over  it.  The  tray  was  then  handed  to 
Ctikaoma,  who  uttered  a  short  prayer  over  it,  and  returned  it  to 
Macangontiwa,  who  placed  it  on  the  floor,  sprinkling  a  little  sacred 
meal  on  it.  Each  of  the  others  then  uttered  a  short  prayer.  While 
one  prayed  the  one  who  was  to  follow  sprinkled  sacred  corn-meal  on 
the  tray.  Molcahtiwa  then  again  lit  the  pipe  and  all  smoked  as  before, 
after  which  all  took  a  little  honey  into  their  mouths,  spat  it  into  their 
hands  and  around  themselves,  rubbing  their  bodies  with  their  hands. 
Macangontiwa  hereupon  laid  one  of  his  and  one  of  Tobengotiwa's 
bahos  on  the  small  tray  containing  the  corn-meal,  and  left  the  house 
to  take  them  to  the  house  of  his  brothers-in-law.  The  latter  is  the 
chadkmongwi  (crier  chief),  whose  duty  it  is  to  announce  religious 
ceremonies  about  to  be  celebrated.  Tobengotiwa  handed  all  the  other 
offerings  from  the  tray  to  the  following  men,  who  were  to  deposit  them 
at  the  places  mentioned  in  connection  with  their  names:  Those  from 
the  north  side  on  the  tray,  to  Ctikaoma,  to  deposit  them  at  Achamali, 
a  shrine,  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  village.  Those 
from   the  west  side   on   the   tray   to   deposit    them   at   Linva   (Flute 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN   MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.    CLIV. 


P^ 


PL.  CLIV.  Entrance  to  the  Spring  Lanva. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  springs  of  the  Ordibis,  not  only  because  a 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  depend  on  it  for  their  water  supply,  but  also 
because  prayer-ofiferings  are  deposited  here  and  water  gotten  at  almost  every 
ceremony,  and  at  the  large  summer  assembly  of  the  Flute  Order  complicated  and 
important  rites  take  place  in  and  around  this  spring.  It  is  situated  about  half  a 
mile  west  of  Ordibi.  The  rounded  objects  on  the  steps  are  water  vessels  left  to 
be  filled  as  soon  as  enough  water  has  run  into  the  spring,  the  water  supply  being 
very  scant  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year. 


Nov.,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  281 

Spring),  about  one-half  a  mile  west  of  the  village,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mesa.  (See  PI.  154.)  Those  from  the  south  side  on  the  tray,  to  deposit 
them  at  an  unidentified  place  south  of  the  village.  Those  from  the 
east  side  of  the  tray  to  Yukioma,  to  be  taken  to  a  hill  on  the  east  side 
of  the  village  half-way  down  the  mesa.  To  each  messenger  he  also 
gave  some  of  the  ptlhus  and  nakwdkwosis  lying  on  the  north-east  and 
south-west  sides  of  the  tray.  He  himself  took  with  him  a  few  yellow 
pflhus  which,  I  think,  he  took  to  the  shrine  of  his  ancestral  deity, 
Kohkang  Wiihti  (Spider  Woman).  If  he  also  took  a  bdho  and  some 
nakwakwosis,  as  he  did  in  1896,  it  escaped  my  notice.  But  as  I 
observed  the  distribution  of  these  prayer  offerings  closely,"!  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  we  have  here  another  of  the  many  variations 
that  occur  in  the  same  ceremony  in  different  years,  especially  in  the 
manufacturing  of  bahos,  ptihus,  and  nakwakwosis.  This  part  of  the 
Hopi  ceremonies  is  extremely  complicated  in  its  details,  and  much 
remains  to  be  studied  about  the  origin,  meaning,  object,  and  the  vari- 
ations at  the  different  ceremonies,  of  these  prayer  offerings. 

The  mongwlalawaiya  that  was  to  take  place  in  the  evening,  I  did 
not  witness.  I  was  assured  by  different  parties  that  it  did  not  take 
place.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  one  described  in  connection 
with  the  baholawu  of  1896  was  based  not  upon  personal  observations, 
but  upon  a  description  given  by  one  of  the  liberals  who  formerly  par- 
ticipated in  it,  and  it  is  possible  that  this  part  of  the  Snake  ceremony, 
like  so  much  of  this  and  other  Hopi  ceremonials,  has  been  discon- 
tinued, or  is  at  least  not  observed  on  every  occasion. 

Next  morning  at  sunrise,  the  crier  ascended  the  house  from  which 
religious  ceremonies  are  publicly  announced,  deposited  the  prayer 
offerings  in  the  shrine  already  mentioned,  and  then  announced  the 
approaching  Snake  ceremony  in  the  words  given  in  connection  with 
the  bdholawu  of  1896.  This  announcement  is  called  "tingapngwu 
(dance  announcement)  or  chaalawu    (crying  out). 

PARTICIPANTS. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  in  Ordibi  the  number  of  men  par- 
ticipating in  the  Snake  ceremony  is  always  small,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  those  members  of  the  Snake  and  Antelope  Fraternities,  who 
belong  to  the  liberal  party  under  chief  L61olomai,  persistently  refuse 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremony.  Following  is  a  list  of  the  participants 
and  their  clan  relationship  as  far  as  recorded: 


282       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 


1896. 
I.— SNAKE  PRIESTS. 


I. 

2. 

3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 

lO. 

II. 

12. 

13- 

14. 


Macangontiwa  (chief  priest) 
Nuvdkwahu, 
C6kaoma, 
Puhtinomtiwa, 
Silcdhongniwa, 
Macatiwa, 
Tfiturzba, 
Tawamshaiima, 
Sihohya, 
SiKdveima, 
Hoveima, 
Lomamshaiima, 
Talaswahtiwa, 
Q6tcvoyaoma, 


Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan, 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 
Pdkab  (Reed)  clan. 
Pakab  (Reed)  clan. 
Pakab  (Reed)  clan. 
Pihkash  (Young  Corn)  clan, 
ish  (Coyote)  clan. 
Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 
Honani  (Badger)  clan. 


II.— ANTELOPE  PRIESTS. 


Tob^ngotiwa  (chief  priest), 
Tob^vohyoma, 


Kohkang  (Spider) 
(Bluebird)  clan. 

Kohkang  (Spider) 
(Bluebird)  clan. 


and     Chorzh 


and     Chorzh 


3 

Lomayeshtiwa, 

Kohkang  (Spider)  clan. 

4- 

Kiwanhoya, 

Bdtki  (Water  House) '  clan. 

5- 

Sihongwa, 

Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 

6. 

Sikdyeshnoma 

(Antelope 

maid), 

Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 

7- 

Mokahtiwa, 

Tab  (Rabbit)  and   Pip   (Tobacco) 
clan. 

» I  have  followed  other  authors  in  the  translation  of  "  B&tki "  for  want  of  a  better  translation, 
though  I  have  for  some  time  had  some  misgivings  about  the  correctness  of  the  rendering  "water 
house,"  for  which  the  Hopi  equivalent  would  be  "  b&hki."  When  studying  the  Blue  Flute  ceremony 
in  Ot&M  in  January,  1903,  some  of  the  older  leaders  related  the  tradition  of  the  meeting  of  the  two 
Flute  Societies  at  the  spring  near  Or&ibi  (where  they  still  have  mutual  ceremonies),  the  Kohkang 
(Spider)  clan  and  B&tki  clan.  When  I  asked  for  the  meaning  of  Mtki  they  promptly  said  ctd  or 
divided -water  or  spring,  from  b^hu  (water),  and  tuki  (cut,  divided,  separated),  because,  they  said, 
they  had  then  and  have  ever  since  used  that  spring  in  their  ceremonies  mutually;  it  had  been 
divided  between  them  and  the  other  Flute  Society.  Numerous  Hopi  words  could  be  mentioned 
showing  just  such  a  connection  between  a  noun  and  the  word  "tuki"  (cut,  separate).  I  do  not 
recall  a  single  instance  where  "water  house"  has  been  given  me  as  the  meaning  of  "  bfttki."  I 
am  invariably  told  that  they  did  not  know  what  it  meant,  and  when  I  suggested  "  water  house  "  they 
said  it  might  mean  that,  though  on  account  of  the  "  t "  sound  they  thought  it  must  be  archaic.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  I  submitted  the  newly  discovered  rendering  "divided  (or  cut)  spring"  to 
others  they  said  they  had  never  heard  it;  but  as  no  one  knew  what  batki  meant  the  derivation  from 
bahu  and  tiiki  might  be  correct.  So  further  investigations  are  necessary  before  this  point  can  be 
definitely  settled. 


Nov.,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  283 

8.  Tuvdvunka  (Antelope  maid),  Tap  (Rabbit)  and  Pip  (Tobacco) 

clan. 

9.  Sihungniwa,  Honan  (Badger)  clan.    - 

10.  Yukioma,  K6kob  (Lizard)  clan. 

11.  Lomavitchangwa,  Batang  (Squash)  clan. 

12.  Kuwdnnomka(Antelope  Maid),  Pakab  (Reed)  clan. 

1898. 
I.-SNAKES. 
The  same  as  in  1896,  except  Lomamshaiima  and  Sikaveima. 

II.— ANTELOPES. 

The  same  as  in  1896,  except  Sihungniwa,  Lomdvitchangwa,  and 
Lomayeshtiwa,  but  instead  of  them: 

Karzhongniwa,  Kohkang  (Spider)  clan. 

Pildngpu  (novice),  Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 

1900. 
I.-SNAKES. 

The  same  as  in  1896,  ^xcept  Macdngontiwa '  and  Nuvdkwahu.* 
Besides  those  present  in  1896: 
]  Mucahongniwa,  Tcu  (Rattlesnake)  clan. 

II.— ANTELOPES. 

The  same  as  in  1896,  except  Kiwdnhoya,'  Lomavitchangwa,  Loma- 
yeshtiwa, Sikdyeshnoma,  and  Kuwannomka. 
Besides  those  present  in  1896: 

Sikdheptiwa,  Bdtki  (Water  House)  clan. 

Chdrzwaima,  Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 

Honwahtiwa,  Kwa  (Eagle)  clan. 

Q6tcventiwa,  Aodt  (Bow)  clan. 

1902. 
I.-SNAKES. 
The  same  as  in  1896,  except  Nuvdkwahu  and  Sikdveima. 

'  Who  had  a  quarrel  with  the  Antelope  priest,  and  hence  refused  or  was  not  allowed   to 
participate. 

»  Deceased. 

»  Deceased. 


284      Field  Columbian  Museum— Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 


II.— ANTELOPES. 

The  same  as  in  1896,  except  Kiwanhoya,  Tob^vohyoma,  Yukioma, 
Lomavitchangwa,  Sikayeshnoma,  and  Kuwannomka. 
Besides  those  present  in  1896: 

Karzhongniwa,  Kohkang  (Spider)  clan. 

Sikdheptiwa,  Bdtki  (Water  House)  clan. 

Pilangpu,  Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 

Talachongniwa,  Tuwa  (Sand)  clan. 

Honwahtiwa,  Kwa  (Eagle)  clan. 

Chorzwaima,  Ish  (Coyote)  clan. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  oflLLIHOIS 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.    CLV. 

A 


PL.  CLV,    The  Snake  Kiva. 

A.  The  whip  ndtsi  in  position. 

B.  The  whip  and  bow  ndtsis  and  two  water  vessels  in  position. 


ti  ai-jgaav  laJsw  owj 


fw  »rfT     A 

bnK  qirfv/  S'lT     .ff 


FIRST  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(SHUSH  KA  HIMUU;  ONCE  NOT  ANYTHING.) 

In  the  morning  at  about  five  o'clock,  the  Chief  Snake  and  Ante- 
lope priests  repair  to  their  respective  kivas,  bringing  with  them  their 
natsis,  some  pipes  and  tobacco,  and  some  sacred  corn-meal.  On  one 
occasion  I  saw  the  Snake  priest  get  this  meal  from  the  ancestral  home 
of  the  Snake  clan,  where  his  sister  had  ground  it  for  him.  The  latter 
priest  goes  to  the  Tcu  (Rattlesnake),  the  Antelope  priest  to  the 
Nashabe  (Central)  kiva.  The  latter  will  for  convenience'  sake  be 
called  Antelope  kiva  throughout  the  paper. 

After  sprinkling  a  circle  of  corn-meal  around  the  kivas, ^  to  warn, 
it  is  said,  nonparticipants  that  a  ceremony  is  in  progress  in  that  kiva, 
both  priests  put  up  their  ndtsi.  This  consists  in  both  cases  of  two 
round  sticks,  about  fourteen  inches  long,  to  which  two  long  black 
eagle  wing  feathers  are  fastened.  In  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  so-called 
tcii  wuwahpis^  (rattlesnake  whips),  used  on  the  snake  hunts,  and  hence 
might  be  properly  called,  whip  ndtsi.  (See  A,  PI.  155.)  The  aoat  (bow) 
natsi  is  not  put  up  until  the  fifth  day,  and  will  be  described  later. 
The  whip  natsi  is  inserted  in  the  matting  at  the  south  side  of  the 
hatchway.  Before  it  is  inserted,  the  priest  holds  a  pinch  of  meal  to 
his  lips,  utters  a  silent  prayer  over  it,  and  then  sprinkles  a  part  of  it 
on  the  place  where  the  ndtsi  is  to  stand  and  throws  the  rest  towards 
the  rising  sun.  On  one  occasion  I  noticed  that  the  Antelope  priest 
spurted  a  little  honey  on  the  ndtsi,  and  that  he  stopped  at  the  foot  of 
the  ladder  for  a  few  moments,  uttering  a  brief,  silent  prayer  before  he 
took  it  from  the  kiva.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  he  does  that 
every  time  when  he  puts  it  up,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  Snake  priest 
does  the  same,  though  I  have  not  noticed  it  thus  far  on  any  other 
occasion. 

Having  placed  the  ndtsis  in  position,  both  chiefs  sweep  their 
kivas,  carry  out  the  refuse  or  sweepings,  build  a  fire,  and  then  squat 
down  near  the  fireplace,  where  they  smoke  for  about  an  hour,  during 
which  time,  usually  one  or  two  others,  who  are  to  participate  in  the 
ceremony,  join  them.  Near  the  fireplace  may  at  this  time  usually  be 
noticed  a  tray  with  meal,  a  pouch  with  tobacco,  some  pipes,  a  can  or 

•  In  1898  this  meal  ring  was  made  by  the  Snake  chief  after  the  natsi  had  been  erected. 
»  This  whip  is  also  called  piihiiwanpi  (soothing  implement)  from  piihiiwanta,  to  soften,  make 
pliable— for  instance,  a  hide;  or  to  soothe,  make  gentle— for  instance,  a  child,  animal,  etc. 

285 


286      Field  Columbian  Museum — ^Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

pot  with  honey,  etc.  On  one  occasion  I  also  noticed  in  the  Snake 
kiva  a  small,  old  skunk^skin  with  these  objects,  the  presence  of  which, 
however,  I  believe,  was  accidental,  and  which,  I  think,  was  later 
fastened  to  the  bow  natsi.^ 

Having  finished  their  smoke,  the  Snake  priests  at  once  begin  to 
repair  some  snake  bags  and  snake  whips,  to  make  some  nakwdkwosis 
of  eagle  feathers,  staining  them  with  the  red  ciita.  One  of  these 
they  tie  into  their  hair,  where  it  is  worn  throughout  the  ceremony. 
It  is  called  dmawnakwa  (cloud  wish  or  prayer).  Other  paraphernalia 
are  brought  to  the  kiva  by  the  chief  priest,  such  as  snake  bags,  sticks, 
and  shipwikas  for  the  snake  hunt,  etc.  The  latter  is  a  small  triangu- 
lar, spade-like  iron  implement,  said  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Spaniards  when  they  were  still  in  the  country,  but  now  used  by  the 
Snake  priests  only  for  digging  up  snakes  on  the  snake  hunts.''  ' 

At  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Snake  priest  repairs  to 
the  Antelope  kiva,  taking  with  him  a  pouch  of  tobacco  and  a  pipe. 
Here  he  and  the  Chief  Antelope  priest  indulge  in  a  smoke  which  lasts 
about  half  an  hour,  and  during  which,  as  a  rule,  nothing  is  spoken 
except  the  customary  exchange  of  relationship.  At  about  breakfast 
time  a  few  more  participants  usually  put  in  their  appearance.  After 
breakfast  an  extended  smoke  is  indulged  in,  and  after  that,  prepara- 
tions are  begun  to  be  made  for  the  snake  hunt.  Nakwdkwosis  are 
made  and  tied  to  the  snake  bags,  the  hair  combed,  the  bodies  painted 
up,  kilts  put  on,  etc.  At  about  half-past  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
they  start  on  the  snake  hunt  (see  PI.  156),  north  of 'the  village.  Each 
man  takes  with  him  a  shlpwika,  one  of  the  small  buckskin  snake  bags, 
a  small  bag  containing  sacred  meal,  some  nakwakwosis,  and  a  few 
sticks  of  hohoyaonga  (Lesquerella  cinerea  Watson).  The  chief  priest 
carries  in  a  bundle,  a  pouch  with  tobacco,  some  pipes,  and  some  food 
— especially  piki.  All  are  attired  in  a  common  kilt  and  moccasins, 
the  body  decoration  consisting  of  a  pinkish  spot  on  the  lower  and 
upper  leg,  lower  and  upper  arm,  forehead,  and  on  each  side  of  the 
sternum  and  the  spine.  The  hohoyaonga  mentioned  is  a  root  and  is 
frequently  used  during  the  Snake  ceremony.  A  piece  is  chewed  in 
the  mouth  and  then  spurted  on  vessels,  clothing,  and  other  articles 
that  have  been  in  contact  with  the  participants  in  the  Snake  cere- 
mony; or  into  springs  from  which  they  have  drunk  during  snake 
hunts,    etc.     This   is  done    in   order  to   discharm   these   objects  and 

'  I  am  told  that  if  some  one  has  a  skin  that  is  suitable  for  thelaodt  a&tsi,  he  brings  it  to  the 
Snake  kiva  where  it  is  smoked  on,  and  thus  consecrated,  as  it  were,  to  be  fastened  on  the  n&tsi. 

•  In  various  ceremonies  a  wona&wika  (board  or  plank  wika)  is  used,  which,  tradition  says,  was 
also  used  as  a  weeding  implement,  and  which  was  superseded  by  the  better  ship  (iron)  wika,  made 
by  the  Spaniards. 


U( 


•^K.o 


Pl.  CLVI.  The  Snake  Kiva  and  Snake  Plaza. 
The  kiva  seen  in  the  foreground  is  the  Snake  kiva,  from  which  the  priests  are 
just  issuing  to  leave  the  village  for  a  snake  hunt.  They  are  headed  by  the  chief 
priest,  who  carries  in  a  blanket  some  food  for  the  noonday  meal,  tobacco,  pipes, 
etc.  All  hold  in  their  left  hand  a  small  buckskin  bag  for  the  snakes  and  a  snake 
whip.  One  of  the  priests  is  just  in  the  act  of  picking  up  a  ship-wika,  which  they 
hold  in  their  right  hand.  To  the  left  of  the  plate,  in  front  of  the  one-story  house, 
is  the  place  where  the  snake  dance  takes  place.  Northwest  of  the  Snake  kiva  is 
the  Maraii  kiva,  partly  hidden  from  view;  in  this  the  Maraii  Society  holds  its  cere- 
monies, and  in  the  one  still  farther  to  the  north-west,  the  Hondni  kiva,  the  Powdmu 
ceremonials  are  performed,  while  in  the  fourth  one,  on  the  top  of  which  a  man  is 
seen,  and  which  is  called  the  Blue  Flute  kiva,  the  fraternity  of  that  name  holds  its 
performances. 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  oflLUNOlS. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLVII. 


Pl.  CLVII.   The  Snake  Altar  in  the  Snake  KfvA. 

The  larger  figurine  is  that  of  PSokong,  while  the  smaller  one  is  that  of  his 
companion,  about  the  name  of  which  see  the  notes  in  the  text.  To  the  left  of  the 
idols,  on  the  floor,  are  some  lightning  frames,  bull-roarers,  rattles,  and  a  number  of 
snake  bags.  Other  objects  seen  on  the  floor  are  a  bowl  with  cQta,  a  tray  with 
meal,  some  blankets,  etc. 


aid  \o  lB(\i  «!■•■;"  tunj^.u-  -/ii 
sdl  \o  Jlal  srfJ  oT     .tx3)  9x1} 


13^1  si  sifT 

ill  9mo2  91B  ,ioofl  9rfJ  no  ,8lobi 

do  laxiiO    .asBcI  ajtene 

3jln«id  smog  ,lE3ni 


Nov.,  1903.       Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  287 

places  from  the  charm,  peculiar  to  the  Snake  cult,  and  make  them 
harmless  for  the  uninitiated.  The  name  hohdyaonga  is  derived  from 
hohoyaowuu,  the  Hopi  name  for  a  black  beetle  (asida  rimata),  which 
is  also  considered  to  be  a  good  snake  antidote,  and  ngaya,  the  Hopi 
name  for  root.  The  snake-hunters  do  not  return  until  about  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  noon  they  meet  at  a  prearranged  place, 
for  a  smoke  and  common  lunch,  after  which  they  again  scatter  out 
until  the  time  mentioned,  when  they  meet  in  the  kiva.  Here  they  lay 
down  the  snake  bags  in  the  north  part  of  the  kiva,  assemble  around 
the  fireplace,  indulge  in  a  smoke,  and  talk  for  about  half  an  hour,  and 
then  partake  of  the  evening  meal.  After  that  another  smoke  follows. 
The  chief  priest  brings  into  the  kiva,  as  soon  as  darkness  has  set  in, 
two  fetishes,  two  lightning  frames,  several  tohopkos  (stone  fetishes 
representing  the  puma),  and  other  altar  paraphernalia,  and  places 
them  on  the  floor  in  the  north  end  of  the  kiva.  These  fetishes  are 
put  up  late  in  the  evening,  which  is  unusual,  as  all  Hopi  altars,  as  far 
as  I  know,  are  put  up  during  the  day.  As  there  is  no  framework,  not 
even  a  regular  sandridge  in  this  case,  this  collection  of  fetishes  and 
other  objects  could  perhaps  hardly  be  called  an  altar.  But  as  thus 
far  in  descriptions  of  Hopi  ceremonies  the  idols,  fetishes,  reredos, 
slabs,  and  other  sacred  paraphernalia  have  been  called  altars  when 
they  are  put  up  or  grouped  together  on  stated  occasions  and  accord- 
ing to  certain  regulation,  we  shall  for  convenience'  sake,  also  call 
these  fetishes  and  what  is  put  up  with  them — altars. 

The  principal  object  in  this  group  (see  PI.  157)  is  the  figure  of 
Pdokong,  the  God  of  Protection  and  War.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
made  figures  of  .a  Hopi  deity  the  author  has  ever  seen.  There  is 
perhaps  no  idol  on  any  of  the  Hopi  altars  whose  face  resembles  so 
much  that  of  a  human  being  as  that  of  the  Oraibi  Snake  Pdokong. 
This,  however,  does  not  pertain  to  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  which 
are  mostly  ill-proportioned.  The  idol  is  made  of  wood,  which  is 
undoubtedly  bdhko  (cottonwood  root),  coveted,  I  think,  partly  with 
rawhide.  It  is  black  and  evidently  very  old.  Around  the  neck 
Pdokong  wears  several  strands  of  old  beads,  and  around  the  body  a 
belt  of  very  old  wampum  and  a  string  of  red  horsehair,  called  tiwa- 
hona.  On  his  back  he  carries  a  netted  wheel,  which  represents  a 
shield,  and  on  his  head  a  cap  of  some  old  material,  probably  buck  or 
elk  skin.  Around  his  body  is  also  tied  a  string  of  nakwdkwosis  to 
which  new  ones  axe  added  at  every  ceremony.  To  the  top  of  his  cap 
is  fastened  an  old  huriinkwa,  which  usually  consists  of  a  round  hollow 
stick  to  which  many  different  kinds  of  feathers  are  fastened,  and  the 
ends  of  which  are  closed  up  with  buckskin,  taken  from  the  clothes  of 


288      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

slain  enemies.*  Behind  the  beads  over  the  breast  are  many  so-called 
kal^htak  (warrior)  bahos  which  will  be  described  later.  The  feet  of 
the  idol  are  fastened  to  a  block  of  wood. 

To  the  left  of  P6okong  stands  a  smaller  idol.  There  is  perhaps . 
no  piece  of  Hopi  religious  paraphernalia,  no  matter  how  sacred,  con- 
cerning which  I  have  had  such  great  difficulty  to  find  out  what  it  is 
and  what  it  stands  for,  than  this  figurine.  From  almost  every  one 
whom  I  have  asked,  even  my  best  friends,  who  are  members  of  the 
Snake  Fraternity,  and — so  it  would  seem — ought  to  know,  I  received 
the  stereotyped  answer:  We  do  not  know.  Some  say  it  represents  the 
wife,  others  the  sister,  still  others  the  brother  of  P6okong.  Other 
information  from  Hopi  mythology,  which  tells  us  of  a  younger  brother 
of  P6okong,  would,  of  course,  lead  us  to  at  once  conclude  that  this 
figure  represents  none  other  than  that  younger  brother  of  P6okong. 
But' why,  then,  this  uncertainty  in  this  case,  when  almost  any  Hopi, 
acquainted  with  Hopi  traditions  and  mythology,  is  well  aware  of  and 
speaks  of  this  personage — P6okong's  brother?  It  is  not  impossible 
that  further  study  will  or  may  show  that  another  deity  is  here  repre- 
sented. Good  Hopi  authority  says  it  is  Nay6ngaptumsi,  the  sister  of 
Mtiyingwa,  the  God  of  Germination  and  Growth. 

The  figurine  is  also  made  of  bahko  (cottonwood  root),  but  much 
more  crudely  than  P6okong.  It  has  neither  arms  nor  legs,  and  the 
body  is- painted  in  bands  which  run  obliquely  around  the  body.  The 
colors  of  the  bands,  commencing  from  above,  are  as  nearly  as  could 
be  made  out,  as  follows:  red,  green,  white,  red,  green,  yellow,  green, 
white,  red,  green,  red,  white,  yellow,  green,  red.^  The  bands  are 
separated  by  narrow  black  lines.  On  the  head,  the  idol  wears  a  ter- 
raced cloud  symbol.  Around  the  body  a  string,  to  which  many 
nakwakwosis  are  tied.  Behind  this  string,  or  belt,  are  thrust  two  old 
bdho  sticks.     Also  a  tawahona  is  tied  around  the  body. 

On  each  side  and  between  the  two  idols  stand  four  tohopkos  (from 
tdho,  puma,  or  panther,  and  pohko,  animal)  of  various  sizes,  and  to 
the  right  of  P6okong  lie  on  the  floor  the  bull-roarers,  lightning  frames, 
snake  bags,  two  old  ayas  (rattles)  like  those  used  by  the  Antelope 
dancers  in  the  public  dance,  a  number  of  snake  whips,  etc.  A  tray 
with  corn-meal  and  some  hohoyaonga  may  also  usually  be  seen  near 
the  altar. 

In  the  Antelope  kiva  nothing  of  any  importance  takes  place  all 
day.      Usually  only  one  or  two  men  besides  the  chief  priest  make  their 

•Such  huriinkwas  are  worn  by  the  Snake  dancers  in  the  other  villages  during  the  snake 
washing  and  public  Snake  dance. 

'  As  the  colors  were  darkened  with  age,  and  yellow  was  more  of  a  light  brown  color,  for  which 
the  Hopi  used  a  yellow  ochre  (pawisa),  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  red  and  yellow. 


Nov  ,  1903.     Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  289 

appearance  in  the  kiva  on  this  day.  All  either  get  wood  or  work  in 
their  fields,  but  eat  and  sleep  in  the  kiva.  The  chief  priest  sometimes 
cards  some  cotton  and  smokes  occasionally  when  being  in  the  kiva. 


SECOND  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(SHUSH  TALA;    ONCE  LIGHT  OR  DAY.) 

The  men  arise  at  an  early  hour.  Some  one  usually  builds  a  small 
fire  to  light  the  pipes  from.  One  after  the  other  then  squats  down 
near  the  fireplace  and  smokes  a  while.  Not  infrequently  the  one  or 
the  other  then  runs  to  his  field  to  look  after  his  crops  or  melons.  On 
one  occasion  a  snake  had  gotten  out  of  a  snake  bag  and  the  crackling 
of  the  dry  piki  on  the  banquette  indicated  its  whereabouts.  Qdtcvoya- 
oma,  who  had  brought  it  in  the  previous  day,  called  it  ivohko  (my 
animal)  and  soon  captured  it  and  put  it  into  one  of  the  buckskin  snake 
bags. 

Shortly  after  sunrise  the  Chief  Snake  priest  again  proceeds  to  the 
Antelope  kiva  for  the  mutual  morning  smoke  with  the  Chief  Antelope 
priest.  The  latter  fills  and  lights  the  pipe,  and  after  both  have  smoked 
it  empty,  cleans  it  and  utters  a  prayer.  The  Snake  priest  then  fills  and 
lights  his  pipe,  and  both  smoke  it,  always  exchanging  terms  of  rela- 
tionship. When  they  have  done,  he  cleans  the  pipe  and  places  it  on 
the  floor.  Whether  he  then  also  utters  a  prayer,  my  notes  do  not 
state,  but  from  analogies  I  infer  that  he  does.  My  notes  of  1900  say 
that  he  did  not,  but  in  that  year  a  new  chief  priest  acted  for  the  first 
time,  and  it  may  have  been  an  omission  on  his  part.  After  the  smok- 
ing the  two  men  generally  chat  a  few  minutes,  whereupon  the  Snake 
priest  picks  up  his  tobacco  bag,  the  Antelope  priest  expresses  a  good 
wish  which  the  Snake  priest  returns  and  the  latter  then  goes  back  to 
the  Snake  kiva.  Before  he  ascends  the  ladder,  however,  he  stops  and 
says:  "fta  clikaolcahlcang  tapkinawicni"  (We  happily  go  forth  towards 
the  evening).  It  may  here  be  remarked  that  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
evening  ceremonies,  he  says:  "Ita  ctikaokahkang  tal6ongnawicni" 
(Happily  we  go  forth  towards  the  morning).  In  the  Snake  kiva  he 
usually  smokes  again,  in  which  others  sometimes  join  him.  At  break- 
fast the  men  return  from  the  fields  and  all  then  eat  the  morning  meal 
together.  Every  man  is  supposed  to  place  a  small  morsel  of  food 
before  the  fetishes.  After  breakfast  smoking  is  indulged  in,  mocca- 
sins are  repaired,  nakwakwosis  made  for  the  snake  hunt,  etc.  At  about 
half-past  ten  o'clock,  the  men  paint  up  again,  and  put  on  their  kilts, 
take  their  snake  whips,  snake  bags,  corn-meal,   shipwikas  or  sticks. 


290      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

hohoyaonga  and  nakwdkwosis,  the  chief  priest,  in  addition  to  all  this, 
taking  in  a  blanket  some  lunch,  tobacco  and  pipes,  and  all  then  start 
off  again  for  another  day's  snake  hunt,  this  time  to  the  west  of  the 
village.  In  1896  I  went  with  the  hunters  this  day,  and  my  notes  on. 
that  trip  read  as  follows:  On  the  second  day  I  accompanied  the  party. 
At  the  foot  of  the  mesa  is  situated  one  of  the  principal  springs,  LAnva 
(Flute  Spring).  Here  the  men  stopped  and  all  sprinkled  a  pinch  of 
meal  into  the  spring,  two  of  them  also  depositing  a  nakwakwosi.  Here 
the  men  separated  in  twos  and  twos.  I  joined  the  two  consisting  of 
the  chief  priest  and  old  Nuvakwahu.  Unfortunately  the  first  is 
entirely  blind  on  one  eye,  the  other  one  being  very  poor;  Nuvakwahu 
is  also  old  and  feeble,  and  also  nearly  blind.  So  the  prospect  of  see- 
ing snakes  captured  was  not  very  encouraging  from  the  start.  But 
the  other  men  were  strong  and  vigorous,  and  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  me  to  follow  them  over  the  many  miles  they  traveled 
on  that  hot  day.  The  party  that  I  followed  found  no  snakes,  although 
they  searched  very  diligently.  This  was  undoubtedly  partly  due  to 
the  fact  that  a  late  rain  had  formed  a  crust  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  which  made  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  find  any  snake  tracks. 
I  heard  many  complaints  about  this,  not  only  from  my  two  compan- 
ions, but  also  from  the  others,  and  not  only  on  this,  but  also  on  the 
other  days. 

At  about  four  o'clock  the  hunters  met  at  a  place  agreed  upon  in 
the  morning.  This  was  a  partly  finished  house  near  an  old  spring  at 
which  the  two  Flute  Societies  have  ceremonies  on  the  last  day  of  their 
celebration.  This  is  situated  about  two  miles  and  a  half  northwest  of 
the  village.  Having  placed  the  snake  bags,  only  one  of  which  con- 
tained one  or  two  snakes,  on  the  ground,  the  men  grouped  around 
them,  and  then  smoked  a  while,  after  which  they  ate  their  lunch^ 
which  was  followed  by  another  smoke  and  a  short  period  of  rest, 
whereupon  they  returned  to  the  village.  Having  arrived  at  the  kiva, 
they  placed  the  bags,  the  empty  ones  as  well  as  the  one  containing  the 
snakes,  in  front  of  the  fetishes,  and  then  sat  down  near  the  fireplace, 
again  smoking.  During  this  smoke,  I  have  repeatedly  noticed,  all 
are  unusually  solemn.  After  the  smoking,  each  man  utters  a  prayer. 
As  soon  as  the  last  prayer  is  spoken  the  seriousness  seems  to  be 
broken  and  a  freer  intercourse  prevails  in  the  kiva,  which  is  still  more 
enlivened  by  the  supper,  now  arriving,  and  which  is  usually  thoroughly 
enjoyed  by  the  tired  men.  The  chief  priest  goes  over  to  the  Antelope 
kiva  again  for  the  usual  smoke  with  the  Antelope  priest,  as  he  does 
every  evening  and  morning.  The  evening  is  spent  in  gossip,  smok- 
ing, and  resting. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  291 

In  the  Antelope  kiva  the  same  condition  of  things  exists  on  this 
day  as  on  the  preceding  day.  Only  two  or  three  men  generally  put  in 
their  appearance  and  these  are  in  the  fields  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 
They  only  eat,  smoke,  and  sleep  in  the  kiva.  The  chief  priest  some- 
times cards  and  spins  cotton  for  the  manufacture  of  bdhos  later  on, 
sometimes  he  also  goes  to  his  field,  and  not  infrequently  he  may  be 
seen,  wrapped  in  a  thin  blanket,  silently  sitting,  sometimes  dozing,  in 
the  north-west  corner  of  the  kiva. 


THIRD  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(LOSH  TALA;    TWICE  LIGHT  OR  DAY.) 

This  day  is  spent  in  essentially  the  same  manner  as  the  two  previ- 
ous ones.  On  one  occasion  I  noticed  that  several  men  brought  some 
rabbits  with  them  from  the  snake  hunt.  Q6tcvoyaoma  had  three. 
Some  of  the  Antelope  men  were  also  hunting  rabbits.  In  1896  in  the 
morning,  the  snakes  that  had  thus  far  been  captured  were  put  under 
an  inverted  jar,  which  had  been  brought  in  early  in  the  morning  (or 
perhaps  late  on  the  previous  evening).  These  jars  are  kept  under  a 
rock  south  of  and  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  village.  The 
jar  was  placed  to  the  east  side  of  the  altar.  It  had  a  small  opening 
in  the  rim  and  another  half-way  up  on  the  side  of  the  jar.  Both  open- 
ings, as. well  as  the  small  open  space  between  the  floor  and  the  rim  of 
the  jar,  were  hermetically  sealed  with  mortar.  If  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  the  snakes  are  piled  up  on  top  of  each  other  in  this  small  inclos- 
ure  it  seems  almost  incomprehensible  that  they  do  not  suffocate. 

In  the  ceremony  of  1898  Macangontiwa's  sister '  overhauled  the 
entire  kiva,  closing  up  every  crack  and  hole  through  which  a  snake 
might  possibly  escape.  In  1900  this  was  done  by  Chief  Priest 
Puhfinomtiwa  on  th6  second  day.  The  snake  jars,  of  which  one  was 
put  in  on  this  day  in  1896,  were  put  in  a  day  or  two  later  in  the  other 
two  years,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  that  the  small  details  of  these  cere- 
monies are  subject  to  considerable  variation,  a  fact  that  I  have 
noticed  quite  frequently.  The  vessels,  in  and  under  which  the  snakes 
are  kept  also  vary  very  much  in  size,  shape,  and  kind  in  the  different 
years  and  different  ceremonies. 

In  the  morning,  at  the  usual  time,  the  Chief  Snake  priest  again 
proceeded  to  the  Antelope  kiva  for  the  mutual  smoke  with  the  Ante- 
lope priest  that  has  already  been  described. 

The  fact  of  my  having  accompanied  the  snake   hunters  on   the 

'  She  is  also  sometimes  called  Tcu  Mana  (Rattlesnake  Maid). 


292      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

second  day  in  1896  led  to  a  serious  conference  in  the  Snake  kiva  on 
the  morning  of  this  day. 

Soon  after  breakfast  the  Snake  men  again  made  the  necessary 
nakwakwosis  and  other  preparations  for  the    snake  hunt,  and  then  sat 
down  near  the  fireplace  and  smoked.      I  noticed  that  they  were  very 
solemn  and  that  something  unusual  occupied  their  minds.      Presently 
Lomdhungyoma,  the  chief  of  this  conservative  faction,   entered   the 
kiva  and  joined  them  in  smoking.      Macangontiwa  now  told  them  with 
a  trembling  voice  that  I  had  been  with  them  on  the  previous  day  and 
that  they  thought  I  intended    to  go  with  them  again.     They  were 
afraid  that  their  fathers,  the  snakes,  might  be  angry,  that  my  presence 
might  interfere  with  the  efficacy  of  the  ceremony,  inasmuch  as  it  might 
cause  the  displeasure  of  the  snakes,  keep  the  hunters  from  finding 
many,    that    they   were    very   unhappy    about    this,    etc.      They   then 
begged  me  not  to  go  with  them  any  more.      No  white  man,  they  said, 
had  ever  seen  nearly  as  much  of  their  ceremony  as  I  had;  in  fact,  very 
few  had   ever  seen  anything;  I  could  see  and  hear  everything  else, 
only  I  should  do  them  the  favor  and  not  go  with  them  on  the  snake 
hunt.      Not  wishing  to  incur  the  ill  will  of  the  people,  I  promised  that 
I  should   not  go  with   them   any  more   during  that  ceremony,  on   the 
condition  that  otherwise,  they  do  not  object  to  my  seeing  and  studying 
everything  else.     To  this  they  readily  consented,  and  a  big  burden 
seemed  to  have  rolled  from  their  hearts.     The  solemnity  which  seemed 
to  pervade  the  kiva  like  a  spell  was  broken,  the  conversation  dropped 
into  the  usual  jovial  tone,  and  all  got  ready  and  soon  started  for  the 
hunt.      As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  they  did  not  find  a  single  snake  that 
day,  as  far  as  I  could  find  out,  which  fact  I  did  not  fail  to  mention  to 
them  in  the  evening.      Had   I  gone  with  them  they,  of  course,  would 
have  attributed  their  failure  to  my  presence.      On   the  other  hand,  I 
have   reasons  to   believe   that   their  objections   to   my  accompanying 
them  were  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  censured  by  others  in 
the  village.'     The  capturing  of  a  snake  has  been  described  to  me  by 
various  persons  as  follows:  When  a  reptile  is  found,  a  nakwakwosi  and 
a  small  pinch  of  meal  is  thrown  towards  it.      The  hunter  then  grabs  it, 
if  it  is  not  coiled   up,  strokes   it  gently,  and   then   places  it  into   his 
snake  bag.      If  it  be  coiled  up  and  show  fight,  however,  the  meal  and 
nakwakwosi   is  also  thrown   towards  it,    but   in   addition   to   that  the 
snake  whip  is  rapidly  shaken  or  waved  over  it,  until  the  snake  uncoils, 
whereupon   it  is  taken.      If  it  escape   into  a  hole  or  be  tracked   to  a 
hole,  it  is  dug  up  with   the  shipwika,   already  described,   or  with  a 
stick.      If  a  reptile  refuse  to  uncoil,  the  party  or  parties  sit  down  near 

'.No  objection  was  raised  by  any  one,  as  far  as  I  know,  when  I  accompanied  them  in  1900. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  293 

it  and  begin  to  smoke,  blowing  the  smoke  towards  it.'  Should  a  cer- 
tain party  absolutely  fail  to  take  such  a  coiled  snake,  he  infers  that  his 
"heart  is  not  good,"  and  that  the  snake  is  angry.  Another  man  is 
then  called  to  try  the  experiment,  and  if  he  fail,  another  one,  etc. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  in  1896  no  snakes  were  found  on 
this  day.  The  hunters  came  back  in  the  evening,  tired  and  discour- 
aged. They  again  complained  a  great  deal  about  the  hard  crust  on 
the  ground.  But  when  they  had  assembled  around  the  fireplace  and 
were  smoking,  some  one  was  heard  stamping  his  foot  on  the  roof  of 
the  kiva,  a  sign  that  he  had  something  to  communicate  to  the  inmates 
of  the  kiva.  Puhtinomtiwa  ascended  the  ladder  and  was  handed  a 
shirt,  one  sleeve  of  which  contained  a  snake.  This  Puhtinomtiwa  took 
out,  placed  it  into  a  snake  bag,  chewed  a  small  piece  of  hohdyaonga, 
and  spurted  it  on  the  shirt,  to  cleanse  it  of  the  snake  charm,  and 
handed  it  back  to  the  owner,  who  had  been  waiting  outside.  Pres- 
ently another  man  announced  his  presence  in  the  same  manner,  and 
handed  in  a  pair  of  pants.  One  leg  of  these,  which,  like  the  shirt  sleeve, 
had  been  tied  up  at  one  end,  also  contained  a  snake.  It  was  also 
taken  out,  the  pants  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  the  shirt,  and 
handed  back  to  the  owner.  Both  of  these  men  were  members  of  the 
Snake  Fraternity,  but  for  some  reason,  did  not  participate.  I  was  told 
that  if  any  member  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  happens  to  find  a  snake 
while  the  ceremony  is  in  progress,  he  is  at  liberty  to  bring  it  in. 
These  men  had  been  working  in  their  fields,  and  not  having  with  them 
a  regular  snake  bag  when  they  found  the  snake,  had  improvised  a  bag, 
the  one  of  his  shirt  sleeve,  the  other  of  his  pant  leg.  It  has  been 
stated  on  a  previous  page  that  none  of  the  liberal  faction  now  partici- 
pate in  the  Ordibi  Snake  ceremony,  but  it  may  be  remarked  in  this 
connection  that  not  nearly  all  of  the  members  belonging  to  the  con- 
servative faction  participate  either.  I  took  occasion  to  question  some 
of  the  latter  as  to  the  reasons  why  they  stayed  away.  One  said, 
because  his  wife,  another  because  his  child,  had  died  not  long  previ- 
ously, and  hence  their  "heart  was  not  good,"  i.e.,  they  were  not  in  a 
proper  condition  to  take  part.  Others  stayed  away  for  other  reasons 
(for  instance,  on  account  of  having  a  quarrel  with  some  one,  etc.). 
Not  a  few  frankly  admitted  that  they  did  not  participate  because  they 
were  "mdmkashi"  (afraid).  On  one  occasion  I  noticed  that  every 
Snake  priest,  after  he  had  finished  eating  supper,  chewed  a  little 
hohoyaonga  and  spurted  it  into  his  food  bowl. 

•  I  have  never  seen  the  individual  hunters  take  tobacco  and  pipes  with  them,  but  this  smoking 
towards  a  rebellious  reptile  has  been  mentioned  to  me  several  times.  It  is  possible  that  on  those 
occasions  where  my  informants  saw  it  done,  either  the  chief  priest  was  in  hailing  distance  or  the 
hunters  happened  to  have  a  pipe  with  them. 


294      Field  Columbian  Museum— Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

In  the  Antelope  kiva  practically  the  same  condition  of  affairs 
exists  as  on  the  preceding  day.  Only  about  three  or  four  men  are  in. 
These  mostly  work  in  their  fields.  The  chief  priest  stays  in  the  kiva 
most  of  the  time;  he  smokes,  cards  and  spins  cotton,  sometimes  gets 
wood,  or  goes  to  his  field.  In  the  morning  and  evening  he,  of  course, 
is  at  his  post  for  the  mutual  smoke  with  the  Snake  priest.  All  again 
sleep  in  the  kivas  as  usual. 


FOURTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(BAYl'SH  TALA;    THRICE  LIGHT  OR  DAY.) 

I  was  usually  in  the  kiva  early  on  this  day — one  time  as  early  as  a 
quarter  past  three  in  the  morning,  when  all  were  still  sleeping.  The 
number  of  Snake  men  present  on  this  day  varied  in  the  different 
years;  in  1896  there  were  seven,  in  1898  I  failed  to  state  in  my  notes 
the  exact  number,  in  1900  there  were  only  six.  On  this  day  some  of 
the  men  again  usually  run  down  the  mesa  before  sunrise  to  look  after 
their  crops,  but  return  to  their  kiva  for  breakfast  and  to  prepare  for 
the  snake  hunt.  They  take  with  them,  however,  their  snake  bags, 
snake  whip,  corn-meal,  etc.,  and  put  on  their  kilts  in  order  to  be  pre- 
pared to  properly  capture  and  handle  a  snake  if  one  be  found.  If  a 
new  participant  comes  in,  he  first  of  all  stands  in  front  of  the  altar, 
holds  a  little  sacred  meal  to  his  lips,  and  then  sprinkles  it  towards  the 
altar.  He  then  takes  off  his  moccasins,  loosens  his  hair,  and  then 
squats  down  near  the  fireplace  to  smoke.  The  smaller  boys  smoke 
very  seldom.  The  only  time  that  I  have  seen  them  take  a  few  puffs 
is  when  the  snake  hunters,  upon  their  return  from  the  hunt,  assemble 
around  the  fireplace  for  the  evening  smoke.  On  that  occasion  I  have 
also  heard  them  utter  a  short  prayer  when  the  men  pray  after  the 
smoking  is  over. 

Through  all  my  notes  of  this  day  runs  the  complaint  of  the  Snake 
priests  that  so  few  snakes  have  been  found.  This  is  one  reason  why 
new  participants  are  heartily  welcomed,  and  why  the  snakes  found  are 
not  transferred  to  the  jar  every  morning.  In  1898  no  jars  had  been 
brought  in  yet  up  to  this  day.      (For  snake  hunt  see  PI.  158  and  159.) 

In  the  Antelope  kiva  the  situation  remains  unchanged.  The 
number  of  men  present  in  this  kiva  are  not  known  to  have  exceeded 
four  on  this  day.  These  eat,  smoke,  and  sleep  in  the  kiva,  but  other- 
wise follow  their  usual  occupations,  except  Tobengotiwa,  who  remains 
in  the  kiva  most  of  the  time,  carding  and  spinning  cotton,  sleeping, 
smoking,  etc.     The  only  connection  between  the  occupants  of  the  two 


•30AJJIV  v,uH  3«AMe     .IHVJO    jq 


PL.  CLVIII.    Snake  Hunters  Leaving  the  Village. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN   MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,  PL.  CLVIII. 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


PL.  CLIX.   Snake  Hunters. 

A.  Snake  hunters  leaving  the  mesa, 

B.  Snake  hunters  in  the  field.    Several  may  be'seen  dimly  somewhat  above 
the  centre  of  the  picture. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  295 

kivas  is  again  the  mutual  smoking  of  the  two  chief  priests  in  the  morn- 
ing and  in  the  evening.  Some  notes  on  facts  of  perhaps  minor  inter- 
est, specially  noticed,  are  the  following: 

1.  Watching  one  of  the  new-comers  in  the  Snake  kiva  particularly, 
I  noticed  that,  after  having  smoked,  he  made  four  nakwakwosis,  stain- 
ing them  red,  and  one  pflhu,  fixed  up  a  snake  whip,  tying  two  long 
buzzard  feathers  to  the  two  sticks  and  a  red  nakwdkwosi  to  the  tip  of 
each  feather,  and  then  laid  these  objects  on  the  floor  and  silently 
smoked  over  them. 

2.  The  kilt  of  the  smaller  boys  is  usually  the  so-called  "soq6mvit 
kuna"  (black  kilt),  which  is  the  first  kilt  worn  by  boys.      It  is  of  a  dark 
blue  color,  with  a  black  circle  in  the  lower  corners.      (See  B,  PI.  177). 

3.  Some  more  shipwikas  were  gotten  on  one  occasion  on  the 
morning  of  this  day. 

4.  The  number  of  red  nakwakwosis  made  for  the  snake  hunt 
varies  with  the  different  priests,  some  made  four,  some  six,  etc.  It 
seems  that  pdhus  are  made  only  by  some.  Not  every  one  makes 
nakwakwosis  every  day;  if  those  of  the  previous  day  have  not  all  been 
used  up,  they  are  taken  again.  The  ptihus,  I  am  told,  are  not  used 
until  the  hunters  are  ready  to  return  to  the  village  in  the  evening,  and 
so  it  is  probable  that  only  one  of  a  certain  party  has  a  pflhu,  though 
it  may  be  that  each  one  has  one.  They  are  said  to  be  laid  on  the 
ground  as  a  prayer  for  a  safe  return.  This,  however,  has  not  been 
personally  observed,  and  needs  further  investigation! 

5.  Special  notice  was  again  taken  of  the  body  decoration  of  the 
Snake  men;  it  is  as  follows:  Spots  of  about  the  size  of  a  hand  were 
made  with  a  pale  red  or  pinkish  clay  on  the  following  parts  of  the 
body:  both  upper  and  lower  legs  (on  the  outside),  both  upper  and 
lower  arms  (outside)  each  side  of  the  sternum  and  the  spine,  the  fore- 
head, and  the  hair  in  front  and  on  both  sides  of  the  head. 

6.  Every  new-comer  ties  a  nakwakwosi  into  his  hair  before  start- 
ing on  the  snake  hunt.  This  nakwakwosi  does  not  differ  from  those 
taken  on  the  snake  hunts.  Such  a  head  feather  is  worn  in  nearly  all 
Hopi  ceremonies,  and  is  called  ndkwa  (wish,  prayer). 


296      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

FIFTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(NAl6sH   TALA;     four  TIMES  LIGHT  OR  DAY.) 
1. -GENERAL  REMARKS. 

With  this  day  the  ceremonies  become  more  comprehensive  and 
complicated,  especially  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  In  fact,  while  up  to 
this  date  our  attention  has  been  chiefly  occupied  by  the  Snake  kiva, 
it  will  from  this  day  be  principally  directed  to  the  Antelope  kiva,  with 
the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  last  day,  on  which  the  events  in  both 
kivas  are  probably  of  equal  importance. 

At  about  half-past  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  new  ndtsi  is  put 
up  at  each  kiva,  the  whip  natsis,  however,  remaining  as  before.  (See  PL 
160.)  A  new  corn-meal  circle  is  sprinkled  around  both  kivas  by  the  re- 
spective chief  priests,  in  order,  I  was  told,  to  keep  out  intruders.  The 
new  natsi  is  called  aoat  (bow)  natsi  and  consists  of  an  old  bow  to  the 
string  of  which  is  fastened  a  so-called  "tawahona."  A  tawahona  is  a 
string  to  which  many  small  bunches  of  red  horsehair  are  tied.  To  this 
string  are  also  tied  some  weasel  and  polecat,  or  skunk,  skins  and 
some  bald  eagle  feathers.  The  two  natsis  at  the  two  kivas  are  essen- 
tially alike.  After  the  natsis  have  been  put  up  the  two  chief  priests 
go  into  their  respective  kivas  and  smoke.  After  the  smoke  the  Ante- 
lope chief  gets  the  paraphernalia  for  the  Antelope  altar,  which  are 
wrapped  up  in  bundles,  and  places  them  on  the  floor  at  the  north  end 
of  the  kiva,  whereupon  he  begins  to  make  bahos.  It  is  then  about 
live  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  More  men  come  in  this  day,  especially 
in  the  Antelope  kiva.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  a  new-comer  is  to 
sprinkle  a  pinch  of  meal  on  the  altar,  if  it  be  already  put  up;  if  not, 
this  is  dispensed  with.  He  then  usually  loosens  his  hair,  takes  off  his 
moccasins — sometimes  also  his  clothes — and  then  squats  down  at  the 
fireplace  and  smokes. 

2.— PROCEEDINGS   IN   THE  SNAKE  KIVA   IN  1896. 

At  the  usual  time,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Chief 
Snake  priest  proceeded  to  the  Antelope  kiva  for  the  usual  morning 
smoke  with  the  Antelope  chief,  whereupon  he  returned  to  the  Snake 
kiva,  where  breakfast  soon  followed.  The  other  men  were  engaged 
in  repairing  moccasins,  snake  whips,  and  snake  bags;  in  making  new 
moccasins  and  nakwakwosis;  smoking,  carding  and  spinning  of  cotton, 
etc.,  all  of  which  was  continued  with  more  or  less  regularity  through- 
out the  day.  Soon  after  breakfast,  the  Antelope  priest,  Lomayesh- 
tiwa,   who   afterwards   made   the   sand   mosaic   in   the  Antelope  kiva, 


PL.  CLX.    The  Bow  Natsi  in  Position. 
The  bow  n^tsi  consists  of  an  old  bow  to  which  a  string  of  red  horsehair 
fringes  is  attached.    To  this  string  are  tied  several -eagle  feathers,  weasel  skins 
and  polecat  skins.    The  ndtsis  of  both  kivas  are  alike. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.  CLX. 


Photo  by  G.  Wharton  James. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  ^fUllNOIS. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  297 

came  to  the  Snake  kiva,  and  he,  with  the  Chief  Snake  priest  and  a 
few  others  of  the  leading  Snake  men,  indulged  in  a  solemn  smoke 
around  the  fireplace,  which  was  followed  by  a  fervent  prayer  by  this 
Antelope  priest  and  by  Macangontiwa,  whereupon  Lomdyeshtiwa  left. 
At  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  however,  he  stopped  and  announced  that  in 
the  evening  the  singing  would  commence  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  While 
I  have  noticed  the  presence  of  an  Antelope  priest  for  this  purpose  in 
the  Snake  kiva  this  one  time  only,  it  is  probable  that  it  occurs  at  every 
ceremony.' 

No  regular  snake  hunt  is  supposed  to  take  place  on  this  day,  and 
in  this  year  (1896)  none  did  take  place,  because,  the  men  said,  the 
Antelopes  were  erecting  an  altar.  In  the  other  two  years,  however, 
all  but  the  chief  priest  and  two  or  three  of  the  older  men  went  out  on 
a  hunt  again.  They  gave  as  a  reason,  their  shortage  of  snakes.  They 
seemed  to  be  as  anxious,  however,  to  find  rabbits  as  snakes.  When  a 
rabbit  was  brought  into  the  kiva  it  was  placed  on  the  floor  north  of  the 
fireplace  and  one  or  several  of  those  present  sprinkled  a  pinch  of  meal 
on  the  head  of  the  rabbit  and  sometimes  they  smoked  over  it. 

When  the  time  for  the  evening  ceremony  in  the  Antelope  kiva 
drew  nearer  the  men  began  to  comb  their  hair,  to  redaub  their  bodies, 
tie  hair  feathers  to  their  hair,  and  otherwise  get  ready  for  the  evening 
ceremony.  Soon  a  young  man  named  Talaswahtiwa  entered  the  kiva. 
He  sprinkled  some  sacred  meal  towards  the  altar,  and  one  of  the  other 
men  tied  a  nakwa  into  his  hair,  handed  him  a  white  corn-ear,  and 
assigned  him  a  seat  on  the  east  side  of  the  altar.  He  was  a  novice 
and  was  to  be  initiated  as  a  member  of  the  Snake  Fraternity.  His 
costume  consisted  of  a  plain  white  kilt  with  a  pale  green  border,  such 
as  are  frequently  worn  on  other  ceremonial  occasions.  While  this 
man  was  called  a  kel^hoya  (novice)  and  was  treated  as  such,  no  regu- 
lar initiation  ceremony  took  place. ^  In  fact,  none  has  occurred 
in  the  Snake  Fraternity  in  any  of  the  years  when  the  Snake  cere- 
mony has  been  observed.  Fortunately,  however,  most  of  the  Snake 
priests  now  living  have  been  present  at  one  time  or  other,  and  from 
one  of  them  the  following  description  of  such  an  initiation  ceremony 
was  obtained.  While  it  is,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  be  regretted  that 
this  important  part  of  the  Oraibi  Snake  presentation  cannot  be 
described  from  personal  observations,  it  has  been  thought  best  to 
record  at  least  the  information  pbtained  on  this  subject  from  an  eye 

'  One  of  the  Snake  chiefs  claims  that  Lomfi,yeshtiwa  was  there  to  get  some  colored  sand  and 
other  things  to  be  used  on  the  altar  and  sand  mosaic  he  was  about  to  make  in  the  Antelope  kiva. 

'  When  I  later  had  occasion  to  befriend  this  man,  he  explained  to  me  among  other  things  that 
he  had  been  initiated  while  still  a  small  child,  but  never  participated  in  the  ceremony,  and  hence 
this  partial  initiation.    This  same  custom  the  author  has  observed  on  other  occasions. 


298      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

witness,  who  once  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  Oraibi  Snake 
ceremony  and  whose  information  it  is  believed  is  correct.  It  is  in 
substance  as  follows: 

"When  kel^hoyas  were  to  be  initiated  it  was  done  in  this  way:  In 
the  forenoon,  a  sand  picture '  was  made  on  the  floor  of  the  Snake  kiva 
in  front  of  the  effigies.  The  latter  were  placed  close  to  the  north 
side  of  the  mosaic,  which  was  made  by  the  chief  priest  or  others. 
When  it  was  finished,  some  one  was  sent  to  the  Antelope  kiva  after  the 
crooks,  which  were  then  placed  around  the  sand  mosaic  in  the  saipe 
manner  as  they  are  arranged  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  As  soon  as  the 
altar  was  completed  (see  PI.  161),  the  novices  were  brought  into  the 
kiva  by  their  "fathers"  (sponsors  or  godfathers),  who  gave  to  each  a 
corn-ear  and  tied  a  small  white  eagle  feather  (nakwa)  into  their  hair 
and  assigned  seats  to  them  on  the  floor  east  of  the  altar.  Hereupon, 
the  Antelope  priests  were  called.  When  they  entered,  each  one 
sprinkled  meal  to  the  altar  and  then  all  squatted  down  on  the  elevated 
or  spectators'  part  of  the  kiva,  i.e.,  the  part  south  of  the  ladder.  All 
now  smoked  cigarettes,  previously  prepared  of  corn-husk,  leaves,  and 
native  tobacco,  by  the  pipmongwi,  or  tobacco  chief.  In  the  mean 
while,  two  members  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  had  dressed  up  in  a  small 
inclosure  that  had  been  prepared  with  blankets  in  the  south-east  part 
of  the  kiva.  One  was  dressed  up  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the 
Antelope  priest  who  dances  with  the  vines  in  his  mouth  on  the  plaza 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  ninth  day,^  only  his  body  is  not  painted  up, 
and  the  wreath  he  wears  on  his  head  consists  of  yucca  leaves  instead^ 
of  Cottonwood  twigs.  The  other  man  is  painted  up  and  costumed  in 
exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  Snake  dancers  are  in  the  public  dance 
on  the  ninth  day.  After  all  had  smoked,  they  comnienced  singing. 
Soon  the  man  dressed  up  in  Snake  costume,  whom  we  shall  call,  for 
brevity's  sake,  'Snake,'  emerged  from  the  before-mentioned  inclos- 
ure, but  backward,  and  dancing  in  a  squatting  position.  With  his 
hands  he  made  the  same  motion  from  one  side  to  the  other  that  the 
Snake  dancers  make  in  the  public  dance  on  the  last  day,  when  they 
move  the  snakes  which  they  are  holding  between  their  lips  to  the  time 
of  the  singing.  As  soon  as  he  had  emerged  from  the  curtain,  he  threw 
with  each  hand  some  corn-meal  into  the  kiva,  backward  of  course. 
He  then  danced  in  a  squatting  position  backwards  toward  the  sand 
mosaic,  described  a  circuit  behind  it,  danced  over  it  from  the  rear  side, 

'  From  the  description  hie  gave  it  was  very  nearly  the  same  as  the  one  figured  in  the  mono- 
graph of  the  WAlpi  Snake  ceremonials  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Fewkes.  In  fact,  other  members  of  the  irnake 
Fraternity  to  whom  I  have  shown  that  plate  aver  that  the  Or&ibi  mosaic  is  the  same,  which  does  not 
exclude  the  possibility,  however,  of  small  variations. 

^  See  description  of  the  ninth  day. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Pl.  CLXI.    The  Snake  Altar. 

This  Plate  shows  the  Snake  altar  as  it  is  constructed  when  initiations  take 
place.  The  figurines  have  been  described  in  the  text  and  in  connection  with 
Plate  157.  The  picture  in  front  of  the  figurines  is  a  sand  mosaic,  the  inner  border 
being  yellow,  the  color  of  the  north  ;  the  next  one  green,  the  color  of  the  west ; 
the  next  red,  the  color  of  the  south  ;  the  next  white,  the  color  of  the  east.  The 
borders  are  separated  by  black  bands,  black  being  the  color  of  above,  which  is 
represented  by  the  north-east.  In  the  centre  of  the  mosaic  is  a  figure  of  a  puma 
and  around  it  drawings  of  four  snakes.  The  crooks  and  sticks  belong  to  the 
Antelope  Fraternity. 

On  one  side  of  the  altar  is  seen  the  jar  under  which  the  snakes  are  kept,  on 
the  other  some  snake  bags  and  whips  and  a  tray  of  meal.  Unfortunately,  the 
negative  seems  to  have  been  reversed  in  making  the  print  for  the  half-tone,  so  that 
what  is  now  the  right  side  of  the  altar  should  be  the  left. 

This  Plate  shows  the  Snake  altar  as  reproduced  by  the  author  in  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum. 


iMBiSiai  n^i 


bat: 


8fi  ifijifi  ajjfiflc:  9iij  ?.-< 


'139  9ilt  lo  iM">:)  arfJ  .siir^ff  tasn  m 


i  iahq  ai' 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  299 

and  finally  stopped  between  the  puma  figure  and  south  border  of  the 
mosaic,  where  he  turned  around  facing  the  south  end  of  the  kiva. 
The  pipmongwi  then  handed  him  a  cigarette  consisting  of  a  piece  of 
corn-husk  filled  with  native  tobacco.  He  smoked  a  few  puffs  and 
then  twirled  his  right  hand  over  his  left  hand  forward,  or  from  him- 
self. He  then  smoked  again  a  few  puffs  and  followed  it  by  the  same 
motion  with  his  hands,  but  this  time  rotatirfg  his  hands  backwards  or 
towards  himself.  This  he  did  in  all  four  times,  rotating  the  hands  two 
times  forward,  two  times  backward,  but  alternately  and  always  pre- 
ceding this  motion  by  a  few  puffs  from  his  cigarette.  After  the  fourth 
time  he  hobbled  back  to  and  behind  the  curtain,  this  time,  however, 
not  backward,  but  face  forward.  As  soon  as  he  had  entered  the 
inclosure,  the  man  dressed  as  an  Antelope  priest,  whom  I  shall  call 
'Antelope,'  emerged  from  behind  the  curtains  and  went  through 
exactly  the  same  performance  and  in  the  same  manner  as  his  com- 
panion. A  second  time  the  Snake  went  through  the  same  perform- 
ance after  the  Antelope  had  returned  to  the  inclosure,  but  on  leaving 
the  altar,  he,  this  time,  instead  of  returning  to  the  inclosure,  hobbled 
to  the  Snake  priest,  who  was  still  sitting  somewhat  south-east  from  the 
altar  and  who  handed  him  a  live  rattlesnake.  This  he  took  a  hold  of 
by  the  neck  with  his  teeth  and  grasping  the  body  of  the  snake  with 
both  hands  and  waving  it  from  one  side  to  the  other  to  the  time  of 
the  singing,  he  moved  towards  the  novices  again  in  that  squatting 
position,  but  facing  them.  Here  he  danced  several  times  up  and  down 
the  line  of  the  novices,  but  so  close  to  them  that  the  tail  end  of  the 
snake  was  dragged  over  their  exposed  knees.  He  then  returned  in 
the  same  manner  to  the  Snake  chief,  handed  him  the  snake,  and 
returned  in  the  same  manner  to  the  inclosure.  Immediately  the 
Antelope  came  out  and  went  through  the  same  performance,  only 
instead  of  a  snake,  he  used  a  bunch  consisting  of  a  young  corn  stalk, 
watermelon,  squash,  bean,  and  other  vines.'  As  soon  as  he  had 
returned  to  the  inclosure,  both  men  came  out,  side  by  side,  again 
danc;ng  backward  in  a  squatting  position  to  the  altar.  When  they 
had  arrived  on  the  sand  mosaic,  they  turned  around  as  they  had  done 
singly,  the  first  time,  whereupon  1;hey  each  received  a  cigarette  from 
the  tobacco  chief,  which  they  smoked.  When  through  smoking,  they 
da!nced,  still  in  the  same  fashion,  but  now  forward,  over  the  sand 
mosaic,  making  a  circuit  in  a  sinistral  direction,  not  only  destroying 
the  mosaic,  but  also  upsetting  the  crooks.  They  then  returned  to  the 
inclosure,  whereupon   the  singing,  which   had  been  kept  up  during  all 

'  Another  informant  says  that  this  man's  performance  precedes  that  of  the  Snake  priest's  with 
the  snake,  just  as  the  dance  with  the  bunch  of  vines  on  the  eighth  day  precedes  the  dance  where 
snakes  are  used.    It  is  more  than  probable  that  this  informant  is  right. 


300      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

this  time,  ceased.  The  Antelope  chief  then  gathered  up  the  crooks, 
he  and  his  men  repaired  to  the  Antelope  klva  where  the  chief  priest 
replaced  them  at  his  altar.  The  'fathers'  (sponsors)  of  the  novices, 
i.e.,  the  men  who  had  brought  them  into  the  kiva  for  initiation,  then 
painted  the  bodies  of  the  novices  the  same  as  the  bodies  of  the  Snake 
priests  were  painted,  and  after  some  one  had  swept  up  the  remains  of 
the  sand  mosaic,  the  Snakes  went  over  to  the  Antelope  kiva  for  the 
mutual  evening  ceremony." 

Thus  far,  my  informant.  That^this  ceremony  takes  place  when 
new  members  are  initiated,  and  that  only  then  the  full  altar  is  built,  I 
had  been  told  by  others  before.  This  same  custom  also  of  erecting 
the  full  altar  at  initiations  only  prevails  in  other  villages. 

After  this  digression,  we  now  recall  the  fact  that  we  left  the  Snake 
priests  in  the  act  of  getting  ready  for  the  evening  ceremony,  which 
will  be  described  under  a  special  paragraph.  We  now  wish  to  state 
briefly  also 

3.— PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SNAKE   KIVA   IN  1898. 

The  proceedings  in  the  morning,  which  vary  very  little  if  any  in 
the  different  years,  have  already  .been  noted  under  "General  Remarks" 
of  this  day's  notes.  I  found  twelve  men  in  the  kiva  when  I  came  in, 
after  breakfast,  engaged  in  talking  and  smoking.  This  day,  as  has 
already  been  stated,  is  not  a  regular  hunting  day;  but  very  few  reptiles 
having  thus  far  been  found,  the  men  soon  got  ready  for  the  hunt. 
Nakwakwosis  were  made,  bodies  were  daubed,  and  at  a  quarter  of 
eleven  o'clock  they  left,  leaving  old  Nuvakwahu  and  Macatiwa  in 
charge  of  the  kiva.  The  statement  that  up  to  this  time  very  few 
snakes  had  been  found  was  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  as  yet  no  snake 
jars  had  been  brought  into  the  kiva,  the  snakes  thus  far  obtained 
having  been  kept  in  the  small  buckskin  snake  bags  and  in  a  larger 
(American)  bag. 

Everything  remained  unchanged  in  the  kiva  and  nothing  of  impor- 
tance transpired  while  the  men  were'  away.  They  returned  at  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  some  having  snakes  in  their  bags,  others 
bringing  rabbits.  They  were  greeted  with  "kwakwail"  (thanks!)  by 
Macdtiwa  and  Nuvdkwahu.  One  of  the  men  handed  a  rabbit  to  the 
latter,  who  then  became  very  profuse  in  his  expressions  of  joy  and 
gratitude.  When  the  hunters  had  laid  down  their  bags,  whips,  etc., 
they  arranged  themselves  around  the  fireplace  and  engaged  in  a  solemn 
smoke,  which  was  followed  by  a  prayer  from  each  smoker.  Hereupon 
they  engaged   in  a  free  conversation  relating  especially  to  the  day's 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  301 

hunt.  But  the  time  for  the  evening  ceremony  in  the  Antelope  kiva 
approaching,  all  washed  their  hands,  combed  their  hair,  renewed  their 
body  decorations,  and  got  their  snake  whips  ready.  Puhfinomtiwa 
took  from  the  large  snake  bag  a  small  snake  (a  racer)  and  placed  it  in 
one  of  the  small  bags  for  use  in  the  ceremony.  At  a  quarter  of  six 
o'clock,  Macangontiwa  picked  up  this  bag  and  a  snake  whip  for  each 
participant  in  the  ceremony,  all  took  some  sacred  meal  in  the  right 
hand,  and  then  they  proceeded  to  the  Antelope  kiva.  Having  entered 
this  kiva  they  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  Macangontiwa 
expressed  a  good  Wish,  all  sprinkled  their  meal  on  the  altar,  and  then 
squatted  down  on  the  floor  along  the  banquette  on  the  west  side  of 
the  kiva.  The  Antelope  men  were  all  in  their  places,  Tob^ngotiwa 
standing  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  altar,  the  Antelope  youth  and 
maid  north  of  the  altar,  the  sprinkler  and  tobacco  chief  on  the  south 
side,  and  the  rest  sitting  along  the  east  banquette  of  the  kiva. 

After  having  thus  briefly  recorded  the  proceedings  during  this  day 
in  the  Snake  kiva  we  are  ready  to  take  a  seat  on  the  banquette  of  the 
Antelope  kiva  and  watch  and  record  what  transpires  in  that  chamber 
during  this  day,  and  as  this  is  probably  one  of  the  most  important 
days  in  the  Antelope  kiva,  the  notes  of  1896  and  1898  will  be  given 
separately,  the  same  as  those  pertaining  to  the  events  in  the  Snake 
kiva. 

4.— PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  ANTELOPE  Kl'VA  IN  1896. 

The  happenings  in  this  kiva  before  breakfast,  including  the  mutual 
smoke  with  the  Snake  priest,  have  already  been  mentioned  under 
"General  Remarks." 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Tob^ngotiwa  commenced  to  cut 
sticks  for  bdhos  at  an  early  hour.  In  this  he  was  soon  joined  by  an 
old  man  called  Sihongniwa.  They  made  the  following  bdhos: 
Tobengotiwa  made  six  double  green  bahos,  one  stick  being  male,  one 
female,  all  having  black  tips  and  being  about  four  and  one-half  inches 
long;  one  baho  of  the  same  kind,  but  about  two  inches  longer.  He 
also  made  twelve  nakwakwosis  of  large  turkey  feathers,  four  of  small 
turkey  feathers,  and  four  of  small  eagle  feathers,  all  of  which  he  stained 
red.  He  also  made  a  ptihu,  consisting  of  a  cotton  string  to  one  end 
of  which  is  fastened  a  large  eagle  breath  feather  and  one  of  each  of, 
the  six  world  quarter  feathers,  oriole,  bluebird,  parrot,  magpie, 
topdckwa  (unidentified),  and  dsya  (unidentified),  or  at  least  as  many  of 
these  as  the  priest  has  or  can  procure.  The  string  is  then  moistened 
with  honey  and  rolled  in  corn-pollen  and  later  tied  to  the  long  double 
green  bdho.     Sihongniwa  made  two  chochokpis  about  fourteen  inches 


302       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

long  and  two  about  four  and  a  half  inches  long,  all  female.  A 
chochokpi  is  a  single  black  stick  pointed  at  one  end  and  having  a  facet 
at  the  other  end.  To  the  latter  end  are  usually  tied  a  sprig  of  kdna 
(artemisia  tridentata  angustifolia),  a  sprig  of  maovi  (Guetieriza  Eutha- 
mia),  a  turkey  feather,  and  a  corn-husk  packet  containing  corn-meal, 
into  which  a  little  honey  is  mixed.  All  this  is  tied  to  the  stick  with 
twine,  which  is  wrapped  around  the  stick  to  the  width  of  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  and  then  usually  black  bands  are  painted  on  this  white 
twine,  but  sometimes  as  in  this  case,  the  white  bands  are  painted  red. 

While  these  prayer  offerings  were  made,  Kiwanhoya,  who  was  to 
act  as  sprinkler  during  the  ceremony,  brought  into  the  kiva  four 
mongwikurus  (small  gourd  vessels,  covered  with  a  network  of  twine) 
(see  PI.  184)  and  a  ngahkuychakapta  (medicine  bowl),  six  corn-ears  of 
as  many  different  colors,  and  a  few  other  paraphernalia  to  be  used  in 
connection  with  the  medicine  bowl.      (See  PI.  198.) 

Another  man,  Lomayeshtiwa,  who  was  to  take  an  important  part 
in  the  proceedings  of  this  day,  came  in  at  about  this  time,  smoked 
first,  and  then  commenced  tying  nakwakwosis  to  the  bent  end  of  a 
number  of  crooks  to  be  used  on  the  altar  about  to  be  erected. 
Tobengotiwa  had  in  the  mean  while  made  a  few  nakwakwosis  which  he 
handed  to  Lomayeshtiwa  with  the  instruction  to  give  them  to  a  man 
that  was  to  go  after  sand  for  the  altar.  This  sand  is  supposed  to  be 
gotten  for  any  Hopi  altar  by  a  man  who  belongs  to  the  sand  clan,  or  at 
least  to  some  clan  related  to  the  sand  clan.  As  in  this  case  no  such 
man  happened  to  be  among  the  participants  of  the  ceremony,  they 
agreed  upon  a  man  who  otherwise  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  cere- 
mony. This  sand  is  generally  gotten  from  a  sand  hill  south-east  of  the 
village  and  half-way  down  the  mesa.  The  party  who  gets  the  sand 
holds  the  meal  and  nakwakwosis  to  his  lips,  utters  a  silent  prayer,  lays 
both  objects  on  the  ground,  and  then  takes  the  sand  into  his  blanket 
and  returns  to  the  kiva. 

After  having  dispatched  this  messenger,  Lomayeshtiwa  washed  his 
head,  dried  his  hair  at  the  fireplace,  and  then  proceeded  to  the  Snake 
kiva,  where  he  smoked  and  announced  the  singing  ceremony  that  was 
to  take  place  in  the  Antelope  kiva,  as  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Upon  his  return  from  the  Snake  kiva  he  at  once  commenced  to  build  the 
altar.  (See  PI.  162.)  First  he  made  a  sand  ridge  on  the  floor  in  the  north 
end  of  the  kiva  of  the  moist  sand  that  Nakwaveima  had  in  the  mean 
while  brought  in.  This  sand  ridge  is  about  three  feet  long,  eight  or  nine 
inches  wide,  and  about  five  inches  high.  In  the  center,  but  on  the 
north  side  of  this  ridge,  he  made  a  depression,  into  which  he  placed  a 
rectangular  medicine  bowl  (see  PI.  163),  filling  up  the  space  around  it 


Pl.  CLXII.    The  Antelope  Altar. 

The  altar  shown  on  this  Plate  is  one  that  was  reproduced  by  the  author  for 
the  Field  Columbian  Museum.  In  the  rear  is  a  sand-ridge,  into  the  centre  of 
which  is  placed  a  rectangular  medicine  bowl.  Behind  this  stand  four  single  black 
bdhos.  At  each  end  of  the  ridge  is  inserted  a  tiponi,  and  behind  it  a  row  of  buz- 
zard feathers.  On  each  side  of  the  sand  mosaic  stands  a  row  of  crooks  and 
straight  sticks,  the  first  probably  representing  life  in  its  various  stages,  the  latter 
departed  ancestors  of  the  Antelope  Fraternity.  At  the  head  of  each  row  stands 
an  antelope  head,  the  symbol  of  the  Fraternity.  The  colors  of  the  border  of  the 
mosaic  are  arranged  in  the  same  manner  as  those  on  the  previous  Plate.  The 
semicircles  at  the  base  of  the  picture  represent  cloud  symbols,  the  lines  emanat- 
ing from  the  clouds,  rays  of  lightning.  In  front  of  the  altar  stands  a  medicine 
bowl  surrounded  by  the  six  ceremonial  corn-ears,  yellow,  blue,  red,  white,  black, 
and  sweet  corn.  By  the  side  of  each  ear  lies  its  husband,  a  hollow  stick  wound 
with  cotton  twine  and  feathers.  On  one  side  of  the  bowl  may  be  seen  a  cloud 
blower,  a  cone-shaped  pipe,  on  the  other  side  a  honey  pot,  tray  with  meal,  and  the 
long  feather  used  for  discharming  purposes.  Unfortunately,  this  illustration,  in 
preparing  it,  has  also  become  reversed  so  that  what  is  the  right  side  of  the  altar  is 
here  shown  as  the  left  side.  The  feathers  on  the  Antelope  heads  and  on  some  of 
the  sticks  are  the  ndkwas,  worn  on  the  head  by  the  dancers. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


PL.  CLXIII.  The  Antelope  Altar. 
While  the  previous  Plate  shows  the  altar  as  it  appears  when  just  completed, 
this  Plate  shows  its  appearance  in  the  evening  of  the  eighth  day  after  corn-meal 
has  been  sprinkled  on  it  during  all  the  ceremonies.  The  picture  was  taken  when 
the  priests  were  performing  the  vine  dance  on  the  plaza,  which  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  the  medicine  bowl,  one  of  the  tiponies,  ndkwas,  etc.,  are  missing. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  303 

(except  in  front)  with  moist  sand.  He  then  placed  at  each  end  of  the 
sand  ridge  a  tiponi.  (See  PI.  162.)  Before  putting  down  an  object, 
however,  he  sprinkled  a  meal  line  towards  a  common  center  at  the 
place  where  he  intended  to  put  the  object.  It  should  be  remarked 
here,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  that  he  was  occasionally  assisted  by 
Tobengotiwa,  who  still  worked  at  his  prayer  offerings  as  has  already 
been  stated.  Next,  Lomdyeshtiwa  made  the  sand  mosaic  shown  in 
PI.  162.  He  first  sifted  sorne  fine,  dry  sand  on  the  floor,  to  the  thick- 
ness of  about  half  an  inch,'  for  the  "field."  On  this  he  then  produced 
the  picture  seen  on  PI.  162,  with  pulverized  sand,  or  rather  stone  of 
five  different  colors:  yellow,  representing  north;  green,  representing 
west;  red,  south;  white,  east;  and  black,  above.  This  sand  or  powder 
is  taken  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  and  dropped  in  a  small 
stream  at  the  places  desired.  Everything  is  done  from  imagination. 
Lines  or  outlines  are  never  made." 

As  soon  as  the  sand  mosaic  was  completed  Lomayeshtiwa  thrust  a 
row  of  black  eagle  feathers  into  the  sand  ridge  on  the  rear  side  and 
then  put  up  the  crooks  on  both  sides  of  the  mosaic.  He  then  sprinkled 
six  short  corn- meal  lines,  in  the  manner  already  described,  south  and 
midway  of  the  sand  mosaic,  and  placed  upon  it  the  medicine  bowl 
which  Kiwanhoya  had  brought  into  the  kiva  with  the  netted  gourd 
vessels  some  time  previously.  While  Lomayeshtiwa  had  been  working 
at  the  altar,  Kiwdnhoya  had  made  eight  nakwakwosis.  Three  of  these 
he  stained  red  and  took  them  with  him  when,  immediately  after,  he 
went  to  Ldnva  in  order  to  get  some  water  in  one  of  the  netted  vessels. 
Of  this  water  Lomdyeshtiwa  poured  the  greater  part  into  the  medicine 
bowl,  and  then  he  dropped  into  it  from  the  north  side  an  old  nakwdk- 
wosi  made  of  an  oriole  feather,  from  the  west  side  one  made  of  a  blue- 
bird feather,  from  the  south  side  one  made  of  a  parrot  feather,  from 
the  east  side  one  of  a  magpie  feather,  from  the  north-east  side,  repre- 
senting above,  one  of  a  topockwa  feather,  from  the  south-west  corner, 
representing  below,  one  made  of  an  dsya  feather.  Next  he  placed  the 
six  corn-ears  around  the  medicine  bowl,  the  yellow  one  on  the  north 
side,  the  dark  blue  one  on  the  west,  etc.  By  the  side  of  each  corn-ear 
he  placed  an  object,  consisting  of  a  hollow  stick,  to  one  end  of  which 
some  old  feathers  are  tied,  and  which  are  wound  entirely  with  twine. 
These  objects,  I  have  been  told,  are  called  the  "husbands"  of  the  corn 
ears.^     I   have   also    heard   them   called   "ndkwa    mokiata"   (wish    or 

'  The  length  and  width  of  the  mosaic  differed  very  materially  in  the  three  ceremonies. 

'The  only  exception  to  this  rule  came  to  the  notice  of  the  author  when  the  Antelope  priests 
in  Mishongnovi  made  their  mosaic  in  1901,  and  that  was  an  innovation 

'It  is  well  known  that  in  many  songs  the  corn-ears  are  represented  by  various  names.as 
i)eing  female. 


304      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  Ill, 

prayer  receptacles).  Either  of  these  designations  would,  of  course, 
not  necessarily  exclude  the  other.  I  have  heard  it  stated  on  various 
occasions  that  one  of  the  usual  feathers  for  the  six  world  quarters  is 
also  tied  to  the  respective  object;  i.e.,  an  oriole  feather  to  the  one  on 
the  north  side,  a  bluebird  feather  to  the  one  on  the  west  side,  etc. 
These  objects  may  be  seen  by  the  sides  of  the  corn-ears  around  the 
medicine  bowl  in  almost  every  Hopi  ceremony.  In  addition  to  the 
small  nakwakwosis  already  mentioned  a  small  quantity  of  corn-pollen 
and  the  blossom  of  tokamsi '  (Delphinium  scaposum)  was  thrown  into 
the  medicine  bowl.  The  following  bahos  were  then  placed  on  the 
altar:  Of  the  six  short,  double  green  bahos,  made  by  the  chief  priest 
in  the  morning,  one  was  thrust  into  the  sand  ridge  near  the  tiponi  at 
the  east  end  of  the  ridge,  one  was  said  to  have  been  deposited  at  the 
shrine  of  Spider  Woman,  but  just  when,  and  by  whom,  I  failed  to 
record,  I  presume,  however,  by  Tobengotiwa,  who  belongs  to  the 
Spider  clan.  The  remaining  four  were  placed  on  the  west  side  of  the 
sand  mosaic  to  be  consecrated  there,  as  it  were,  and  then  to  be 
deposited  at  four  different  places  the  next  morning.  The  long  double 
green  baho  with  the  long  ptihu  was  thrust  into  the  sand  ridge  near 
the  other  tiponi  and  the  pOhu  laid  diagonally  from  north-west  to 
south-east  on  the  sand  mosaic.  Four  black  chochokpis  with  white 
facets,  which  Tobengotiwa  had  also  in  the  mean  while  made,  were 
placed  in  an  upright  position  behind  the  rectangular  medicine  bowl, 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  nakwakwosis  of  the  chochokpis  were  hang- 
ing into  the  medicine  bowl.  The  preparing  of  the  liquid  in  this  medi- 
cine bowl  escaped  my,  notice.  A  number  of  nakwakwosis  were 
scattered  over  the  sand  mosaic.  At  the  south  end  of  each  row  of 
crooks  was  placed  an  old  Antelope  skull  with  the  horns  and  hide  on. 
On  these  were  hung  the  bunches  of  head  feathers,  or  nakwakwosis, 
worn  on  the  heads  by  the  Snake  priests,  as  well  as  the  Antelope 
priests  in  the  public  performance.  These  consist  of  a  bunch  of  eagle 
breath  feathers,  to  the  tips  of  which  are  tied  small  bluebird  feathers, 
of  which  again  two  and  two  are  tied  "together.  The  two  tiponies  are 
made,  as  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  of  a  round  piece  of  bahko  (lit., 
"water  wood,"  meaning  cottonwood  root),  into  the  upper  end  of  which 
is  inserted  an  old  celt  measuring  about  three  and  a  half  to  four  inches 
in  width  and  probably  about  eight  inches  in  length.  Around  this  are 
placed  some  old  eagle  wing  feathers  that  are  tied  to  the  piece  of 
bahko,  the  latter  being  closely  wound  with  buckskin  thong.  Infor- 
mation thus  far  obtained  says  that  none  of  the  tiponies  belong  to  the 

•  Also  called  tcoroci  (bluebird  blossom  or  flower). 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  305 

Snake  priest,  and  at  no  time  have  I  seen  a  tiponi  in  the  Snake  kiva.' 
When  the  altar  was  completed,  some  of  the  men  sat  down  to  eat  and 
then  smoked.  It  should  be  remarked  that  from  this  day  to  the  even- 
ing meal  of  the  eighth  day  the  Antelope  priests  eat  no  food  that 
contains  any  fat  or  salt. 

A  few  incidents  should  be  mentioned  at  this  juncture  that  hap- 
pened while  the  altar  was  being  constructed  and  the  sand  mosaic 
made:  At  about  noon,  Sihongwa  took  some  sacred  meal  and  some 
nakwakwosis  to  a  spring  about  two  miles  east  of  the  village.  He  also 
took  with  him  a  bowl,  but  it  is  supposed  that  he  took  that  to  his  house. 
Sihongwa's  father,  who  did  not  participate  in  the  ceremony  this  time, 
brought  to  the  Antelope  kiva  a  bunch  of  green  corn-stalks,  squash, 
muskmelon  and  watermelon  vines,  beans,  etc.,  all  with  the  leaves  and 
roots  on  them.  All  these,  with  the  four  chochokpis  made  by  Sihongwa 
in  the  morning,  were  put  into  an  ancient  pot  (see  PI.  162),  which  was 
then  placed  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the  altar.  This  pot  is  called 
bdtni,  a  name  which  is  also  used  for  Well,  cistern,  etc. 

At  about  the  time  when  the  altar  was  completed,  old  Mokahtiwa, 
who  was  to  act  as  the  companion  of  the  Antelope  maid  in  the  approach- 
ing ceremonies,  made  his  appearance  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  After  he 
had  partaken  of  some  food  and  smoked  with  the  others  he  sat  down  near 
the  fireplace  and  made  nine  cigarettes  of  corn-husk  leaves  and  native 
tobacco.  These  he  placed  on  the  floor  north  of  the  fireplace  for  use 
later  on.  Tobengotiwa  made  some  nakwas  for  use  by  new-comers. 
Sihongwa,  who  in  the  mean  while  had  returned  from  his  errand  to  the 
spring,  mentioned  before,  was  sent  with  a  message  to  the  Snake  kiva 
and  also  to  fetch  a  young  maiden  who  was  to  act  as  Antelope  maid  in 
the  coming  ceremonies.  He  was  followed  by  an  elderly  man,  Yukioma, 
and  one  of  the  leaders  of  this  faction,  who  was  to  be  initiated  into  the 
Antelope  order.  As  soon  as  he  had  entered  the  kiva,  Mokdhtiwa  tied 
one  of  the  nakwas  that  Tobengotiwa  had  made  into  his  hair,  handed 
him  a  white  corn-ear,  and  assigned  him  a  seat  on  a  blanket  which  had 
been  placed  on  the  floor  east  of  the  altar.  Lomdyeshtiwa  went  and 
got  a  small  girl,  tied  a  white  ndkwa  into  her  hair,  gave  her  a  white 
corn-ear,  and  assigned  her  a  seat  by  the  side  of  Yukioma.  Both  were 
candidates  for  initiation.  Upon  entering  the  kiva,  both  had  first  of 
all  stepped  to  the  altar,  held  their  right  hand,  which  contained  a  little 
sacred  corn-meal,  to  their  lips,  uttered  a  silent  prayer,  and  then 
sprinkled  the  meal  to  the  altar. 

'  All  informants  from  all  mesas  agree  in  the  statement  that  the  Snake  chief  in  VV&Ipi  is  the 
only  one  who  has  a  tfponi. 


3o6      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

Preparations  were  in  the  mean  while  also  made  to  decorate  the 
Antelope  youth  and  Antelope  maid.  The  latter  seated  herself  on  the 
banquette  in  the  extreme  south-east  corner  of  the  deeper  portion  of 
the  kiva.  Sihongwa  painted  her  up.  He  daubed  her  hands  and  feet 
with  dtima  (white  kaolin),  her  chin  grayish  black,'  and  then  drew  a  jet- 
black  line  over  her  upper  lip,  from  ear  to  ear. 

After  Sihongwa  was  through,  Lomayeshtiwa  dressed  up  the  mana 
as  follows:  First  he  placed  around  her,  in  the  form  of  a  dress,  the 
large  ceremonial  blanket,  ttiihi.  Around  this,  on  the  upper  part  of  her 
body,  he  fastened  a  pitkuna,  the  kilt  commonly  used  by  the  men  in 
ceremonies  and  Katcina  dances.  Around  her  waist  he  tied  a  wokok- 
wawa  ("big  belt")  with  knotted  fringes.  This  belt  is  one  of  the 
objects  in  a  bridal  costume.  To  the  belt  he  fastened  a  bell  (on  the 
right  side  of  her  body).  In  her  ears  she  wore  the  so-called  ttioynahkas 
(small,  square,  thin  blocks  of  wood  inlaid  with  turquoise)  and  around 
her  neck  many  strands  of  white  and  red  beads  to  which  an  abalone 
shell  was  attached.  Her  hair  was  then  combed  by  Sihongwa  and  it 
hung  down  loosely  behind.  A  small  white  eagle  feather  was  tied  to 
her  scalplock  on  the  apex  of  her  head.  Finally,  Sihongwa  placed  a 
drop  of  honey  into  the  mouth  of  the  mana. 

Old  Mokahtivva,  who  was  to  act  as  Antelope  youth,  was  deco- 
rated by  Sihongwa  as  follows:  The  hands  and  feet  were  painted  white, 
a  black  line  ran  from  ear  to  ear  over  the  upper  lip.  The  chin,  a  spot 
in  each  hand  and  on  the  sole  of  each  foot,  two  short  lines  on  each  side  of 
the  sternum,  on  each  side  of  the  spine,  on  each  lower  leg,  and  each 
lower  arm,  all  were  painted  grayish  black.  White  dotted  lines  were 
running  from  the  thumbs  upward  along  the  inside  of  the  arms  to  the 
shoulders,  and  then  down  on  each  side  over  the  chest  along  the  front 
of  each  leg  to  the  tip  of  the  big  toes.  Similar  dotted  lines  commenced 
on  the  back  of  the  hands  and  ran  along  the  outside  of  the  arms,  up 
to  the  shoulders,  down  on  each  side  of  the  back,  along  the  back  side  of 
the  legs  to  the  heels.  Mokahtiwa  then  dressed  himself  up  as  follows: 
Around  the  waist  he  tied  the  usual  ceremonial  kilt  (pitkuna)  and  sash 
(mochapmonkwawa)  with  a  foxskin  (sikdhtaypuka),  suspended  from 
the  sash  behind.  Over  the  right  shoulder  he  hung  a  bandoleer  of  blue 
yarn  and  a  strand  of  the  same  material  he  tied  around  his  left  leg  ^ 
below  the  knee.  Around  the  ankles  he  wore  figured  ankle  bands  and 
in  the  ears,  red  and  green  turquoise  beads.  To  the  back  of  the  head  he 
fastened  a  bunch  of  white  eagle  feathers,  to  the  front  of  the  head  a 

'  This  black  stuff  is  called  "  B&hckwa,"  "  water-blue,"  and  is  the  bluish  black,  slimy,  rot- 
ten dirt  found  in  springs  that  have  not  been  cleaned  out  for  some  time. 

*  In  igco,  around  both  legs. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  307 

-bunch  of  colored  pigeon  or  chicken  feathers,'  while  to  the  scalplock 
was  tied  the  usual  nakwa.  Around  the  neck  he  wore  many  strands 
of  beads  and  around  each  leg  a  string  of  small  bells.  When  he  was 
done,  he  also  took  a  drop  of  honey  into  his  mouth. 

While  these  two  persons  had  been  arrayed  for  the  cefemony  two 
new  men  had  come  in,  Kiwdnhoya  had  filled  the  big  cloud  blower 
(omawtapi)  with  the  peculiar  native  tobacco  used  for  this  purpose,  and 
the  tobacco  chief,  who  usually  wears  a  plain,  blue  kilt,  had  made  nine 
corn-husk  cigarettes  and  placed  them  on  the  floor  north  of  the  fire- 
place. The  Snakes  were  now  notified  that  all  was  ready.  Until  they 
arrived  in  the  Antelope  kiva,  the  Antelopes  waited  in  silence.  In  the 
corner,  north-west  of  the  altar,  sat  Tob^ngotiwa;  north  of  the  altar 
stood  Mokahtiwa,  the  Antelope  youth,  holding  in  his  left  hand  a  little 
corn-meal  and  the  tiponi  from  the  west  end  of  the  sand  ridge,  and 
Sikdyeshnoma,  the  Antelope  maid,  who  holds  in  her  left  hand  some 
corn-meal  and  the  pot  containing  four  long,  black  bahos  and,  green 
corn,  melon,  squash,  bean,  and  other  vines.  This  pot  had  been  handed 
to  her  by  Sihongwa,  while  the  tiponi  had  been  given  to  Mokahtiwa  by 
Tob^ngotiwa.  As  the  pot  with  its  contents  is  rather  heavy,  the  mana 
supports  it  with  her  right  hand.  At  the  north-east  corner  of  the  altar 
sat  Sihongwa,  to  the  left  of  him  first  a  few  Antelopes,  then  the  two 
Antelope  novices,  and  to  the  left  of  them  Taldswahtiwa,  the  Snake 
novice.  South  of  the  altar  sat  Kiwdnhoya  and  the  tobacco  chief. 
The  Snakes,  upon  entering  the  kiva,  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder, 
Macangontiwa  expressed  a  good  wish,  all  sprinkled  meal  to  the  altar, 
and  then  seated  themselves  along  the  east  banquette  on  the  floor.  All 
had  on  their  snake  kilts,  but  were  barefooted.  For  a  description  of 
the  mutual  ceremony  now  about  to  begin  see  "6. — Mutual  Ceremony 
of  Snakes  and  Antelopes,"  under  this  day's  proceedings, 

5.— PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  ANTELOPE  Kl'VA  IN  1898. 

For  the  proceedings  in  the  morning,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
'^General  Remarks"  at  the  beginning  of  the  notes  on  the  fifth  day. 
When  I  arrived  in  the  kiva  after  breakfast  at  about  ten  o'clock,  I 
found  several  of  the  men  engaged  in  making  the  following  bdhos  and 
nakwdkwosis  as  far  as  observed : 

Tob^ngotiwa  made  six  double  green  bdhos,  about  five  and  one- half 
inches  long,  with  black  tips  having  chat  feather  nakwdkwosis  tied  to 
them,  the  strings  of  the  latter  being  red.  He  also  made  a  double 
green   baho   about  seven   inches   long  with   black   tips   to   which    he 

'  Parrot  feathers  are  supposed  to  be  used  if  obtainable. 


3q8      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

attached  a  cotton  string,  to  the  end  of  which  were  tied  the  usual  six 
ceremonial  feathers  and  an  eagle  breath  feather.  This  string  is  called 
a  pdhu  (road).  This  larger  baho  was  to  be  used  later  on  the  altar. 
Tobengotiwa  furthermore  made  four  nakwakwosis  of  small  hawk 
feathers,  twelve  of  small  turkey  feathers,  and  four  short  ptlhus  of  small 
eagle  feathers.  The  strings  of  all  of  these  were  rolled  in  red  c6ta 
(iron  oxide)  except  the  long  ptihu,  which  was  first  moistened  with 
honey  and  then  rolled  in  corn-pollen. 

Sihongwa  made  four  chochokpis  about  four  inches  long  and  four 
about  twelve  inches  long.  To  the  first  he  attached  turkey  to  the 
latter  eagle  feather  nakwakwosis.  To  all  he  tied  a  sprig  of  ktina,  a 
small  turkey  feather,  a  sprig  of  maovi,  and  a  corn-husk  packet  con- 
taining corn-meal  and  honey.  He  also  made  four  nakwakwosis,  but 
my  notes  fail  to  state  what  kind  of  feathers  he  used. 

At  about  twelve  o'clock  Tobengotiwa  deposited  a  baho,  some  corn- 
meal,  and  I  believe  some  nakwakwosis,  at  the  shrine  of  Kohkang  Wuhti 
(Spider  Woman),  which  is  located  under  a  large  rock  on  the  west  side 
and  half-way  down  the  mesa.      (See  PI.  153.) 

I  was  told  that  from  this  day  all  Antelope  priests  eat  no  meats 
nor  salted  food,  Tobengotiwa  eating  only  once — late  in  the  evening. 

Towards  noon,  Karzhongniwa  commenced  constructing  the  altar, 
but  I  was  absent  until  about  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
When  I  then  returned,  I  found  the  altar  completed  and  the  men 
engaged  in  eating,  sleeping,  smoking,  etc.  Mokahtiwa  made  a  num- 
ber of  cigarettes.  These  cigarettes  were  about  two  and  one-half 
inches  long,  and  consisted  of  pieces  of  corn-husk  filled  with  native 
tobacco.  These  he  placed  on  the  floor  north  of  the  fireplace  for  use 
in  the  approaching  ceremony.  Each  of  the  men  made  an  eagle 
nakwakwosi,  coloring  the  string  red.  This  he  tied  to  the  scalplock. 
This  feather  is  called,  as  is  usually  the  case,  nakwa,  and  is  used  in 
many  Hopi  ceremonies. 

Yukioma,  who  was  to  act  as  Antelope  youth,  and  the  girl  who  was 
to  act  as  Antelope  maid,  were  then  dressed  up  and  decorated,  for  a  de- 
scription of  which,  see  "4. — Proceedings  in  the  Antelope  Kiva  in  1896." 

When  all  was  ready  the  Snakes  were  notified  to  that  effect,  ai>d 
their  arrival  in  the  Antelope  kiva,  etc.,  has  already  been  noted  in  "3. 
— Proceedings  in  the  Snake  Kiva  in  i898"(q.v.).  Having  thus  recorded 
the  proceedings  in  both  kivas  for  the  two  years,  1896  and  1898,  sepa- 
rately, up  to  the  mutual  evening  ceremony,  we  are  now  ready  to 
describe  that  interesting  event,  and  as  in  that  very  small  variations 
have  thus  far  been  noted,  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  describe  it 
specially  for  each  year. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXIV. 


Pl.  CLXIV.  Singing  Ceremony  in  the  Antelope  Kiva. 
The  row  of  singers  to  the  left  are  the  Snake  priests ;  of  the  two  men  in  front 
of  the  altar  the  one  to  the  right  is  the  pipelighter,  the  other  one  the  asperger.  The 
lower  illustration  also  shows  the  Antelope  youth  and  the  Antelope  maid.  The 
Antelope  singers  and  novices,  not  shown  in  the  Plate,  sit  on  the  east  side  of  the 
kiva,  opposite  the  Snake  singers. 


9dT    .bism 

')((j  lo  abia  J3b3  stlj  no  Jia  ,S 


■  Jit  T9V/oi 

•'     '.ian?.  srft  sJiaoqqo  ,K7i>l 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Sxake  Ceremony — Voth.  309 

6.— MUTUAL  EVENING  CEREMONY  IN  THE  ANTELOPE  Kl'VA. 

It  has-  already  been  noted  that  the  Snakes,  upon  their  arrival  in 
the  Antelope  kiva,  first  halt  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and  then,  after 
their  leader  has  expressed  a  good  wish  and  all  have  sprinkled  meal 
towards  the  altar,  seat  themselves  east  of  the  altar.  Furthermore, 
that  the  Antelopes  are  ready  for  the  ceremony,  the  youth  and  maid, 
tiponi  and  bdtfti  in  hand,  standing  at  the  north  side,  the  asperger  and 
pipelighter  sitting  on  the  south  side,  and  the  novices  and  other  partici- 
pants squatting  on  the  east  side  of  the  altar.  As  soon  as  the  Snakes 
have  seated  themselves  the  pipelighter  lights  a  cigarette  at  the  fire- 
place, hands  it  to  Tobdngotiwa,  exchanging  with  him  terms  of  relation- 
ship. The  latter  smokes  a  little  while  and  then  hands  the  cigarette 
to  the  Snake  chief,  who  also  smokes,  handing  the  cigarette  to  the  next 
man,  and  thus  along  the  line  until  consumed.  A  second  cigarette  has 
in  the  mean  while  been  handed  by  the  pipelighter  to  Sihongwa,  which 
is  smoked  by  him  and  the  Antelope  priests.  A  third  cigarette  is 
smoked  by  the  asperger  and  pipelighter.  The  kel^hoyas  do  not 
smoke. 

After  the  smoking,  Tobengotiwa  takes  out  all  of  the  crooks  and 
sticks  on  the  west,  Sihongwa  those  on  the  east  side  of  the  altar,  except 
the  crook  at  the  extreme  south  end  of  each  row.  The  long  straight 
sticks  are  also  left  in  their  pedestals,  A  crook  is  given  to  each  Ante- 
lope priest,  each  kel^hoya,  and  to  the  asperger;  the  rest  are  laid  on 
the  floor.  On  one  occasion — in  1898 — some  of  the  Snakes  who  had 
been  on  the  snake  hunt  came  in  somewhat  belated,  and  when  it  was 
found  that  the  Snake  priest  had  not  brought  enough  whips  with  him, 
the  Antelope  priest  handed  them  crooks.  As  it  happened,  one  was 
handed  a  straight  stick,  which,  however,  was  promptly  refused.  The 
Snake  priest  has  in  the  mean  while  distributed  the  snake  whips  to  his 
men,  and  the  live  snake,  which  he  brought  in  the  snake  bag,  to  the 
Antelope  youth.  The  latter  grasps  the  snake  with  his  right  hand 
behind  the  neck  and  thus  holds  it  throughout  the  ceremony.  In  his 
left  hand  he  holds  a  tiponi,  as  has  already  been  stated. 

The  chief  Antelope  priest  now  utters  the  following  prayer:  "Ita 
ctikaokahkang  pawasiotiwani"  (We  joyfully  shall  commence  to  hold 
this  ceremony),  whereupon  the  singing  commences,  generally  at  about 
half-past  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  (See  PI.  164.)  During  the 
singing  the  sprinkler  dips  his  aspergill  into  the  medicine  bowl  every 
few  minutes  and  asperges  towards  the  altar,  and  upward.  It  has  thus 
far  been  impossible  to  obtain  the  songs  of  this  ceremony.  Those  few 
who  know  them  refuse  to  give  them  up,  and  those  who  might  be  will- 


3IO      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

ing  to  sing  do  not  know  them,  or  at  least  only  partly.  There  seems 
to  be  no  doubt  about  these  songs  being  old,  and  important,  and  one 
of  the  reasons  for  the  delay  in  publishing  this  paper  has  been  the  hope 
that  I  might  succeed  in. obtaining  those  songs,  which  hope,  however, 
has  thus  far  not  been  realized. 

When  the  singing  has  lasted  about  twenty  minutes,  the  sprinkler 
lights  the  dmawtapi  (cloud  producer),  a  large  cone-shaped  pipe,  which 
he  has  filled  and  laid  down  near  the  fireplace  beforehand.  After  he 
has  lit  it,  he  kneels  at  the  south  edge  of  the  altar,  reverses  the  cloud 
producer,  taking  the  large  end  between  his  lips,  and  then  blows  large 
volumes  of  smoke  over  the  altar  and  into  the  medicine  bowl.  As  soon 
as  he  has  replaced  the  pipe,  the  pipelighter  again  lights  three  cigar- 
ettes, one  after  the  other,  which  he  distributes,  and  which  are  smoked 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  three  before.  The  singing,  however,  is  not 
interrupted  by  the  smoking,  which  is  very  unusual. 

The  singing  lasts  about  an  hour;  when  it  ceases  all  say  "kwakwai!" 
(thanks!)  and  the  Snakes  hand  their  whips  to  their  chief,  the  Ante- 
lopes laying  the  crooks  and  sticks  on  the  floor.  Of  the  latter, 
Tobengotiwa  places  those  on  the  west,  Sihongwa  those  on  the  east  side 
into  the  pedestals,  whereupon  all  silently  wait  for  the  third  set  of  three 
cigarettes,  which  are  lit  and  distributed  by  the  pipelighter.  The  Ante- 
lope youth  and  maid,  who,  throughout  the  ceremony,  have  kept  step 
to  the  singingj  constantly  walking  up  and  down  behind  the  altar,  now 
faster,  now  slower,  also  silently  wait,  facing  the  altar.  (See  B,  PI.  163.) 
All  smoke  again  as  before,  exchanging  terms  of  relationship,  such  as 
inaa  (my  father),  itii  (my  child),  iwawa  (my  elder  brother),  itopko  (my 
younger  brother),  etc.  At  the  smokes  during  these  singings  I  never 
saw  a  pipe  used,  but  only  this  corn-husk  cigarette.  After  this  smoke 
the  Snake  priest  takes  from  the  Antelope  youth  the  snake  and  replaces 
it  into  the  snake  bag.  The  Antelope  chief  takes  from  him  the  tiponi 
and  corn-meal,  goes  to  the  kelehoyas  and  standing  before  them 
waves  the  tiponi  towards  each  of  them,  one  after  the  other;  first 
towards  the  head,  then  towards  the  lower  part  of  the  face,  then  some- 
what lower  down,  and  lastly  towards  the  heart,'  saying  to  each  one:, 
Um  woyomii  Uh  katci  navokaonani  (wiihtakwuwani  (if  male),  wuhti- 
haskiwuwani  (if  female),  You  long  your  life  will  preserve  (keep)  and 
you  will  grow  up  (old  men,  old  women). 

He  then  steps  back  to  the  north-east  corner  of  the  altar,  waves  the 
tiponi  diagonally  across  the  sand  mosaic  along  the  long  string  or  pdhu 
(road)  as  far  as  he  can  reach.  This  he  does  four  times.  Then  he 
holds   the   tiponi    in  front  of   himself   and   then   utters  the   following 

'  On  one  occasion  it  seemed  as  if  he  aimed  to  wave  towards  the  heart  every  time. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  311 

prayer:  "Pai  hapi  itam  yep  it  s-hiian  pasionaya;  hapi  owi  yep  it 
shiianpasiwtikat  akvv  itam  paipu  pas  pai  okiw  akw  mongwactotini  pai 
pi  okiwa.  Hapi  kush  yahpinen  yiikioq  qoyangwun  tiipaka,  sikangwun 
tdpaka  it  wiikwtuwuilat  ndlonangup  hongkata;  put  anga  paisok  pas  pai 
ang  nacungwitapwushkahkangwu  yiikioq  shiishngumok,  shdshchawat 
wonuhkat  akw  pdisok  pas  pai  wiihtitokwantioni  wdhtak  tokwantioni 
pai  pu  okiwa.  Ep  ovahakai  itahtim  natpipake  wiingwiotakam  yishe- 
hapi ;  paipu  paspai  okiwd;  woyoini  katici  nawokawintani  pai  pu  okiwd. 
Pai  owi  itam  yan  hakam  tunatyaokahkango  pai  hahlaikahkango 
ookaokahkango  kawomii  talodngnawishni  shopkawat  sinomu ;  pas  yaoi.  " 
A  free  rendering  of  this  would  be  as  follows:' 
Now,  then,  we  celebrate  (perform)"  this  here  in  the  right  manner. 
Hence,  since  we  perform, (or  celebrate)  this  rightly  we  must  certainly 
attain  its  objects,'  okiwa.*  Now,  then,  from  here  over  to  the  white 
rising  bluff,  to  the  yellow  rising  bluff,  this  age-mark  is  standing  at 
intervals.^  On  that  you  must  be  resting  as  you  go  along  (through 
life),*  over  there  at  the  last  one,  the  shortest  one  standing,  may  you 
(lit.,  you  must)  fall  asleep  as  old  women,  old  men!  okiwa!  There 
somewhere  above  (?)  our  children,  grown  to  different  ages,  are  staying. 

'It  is  extremely  difficult  to  give  a  correct  rendering  of  old  Hopi  talks  and  songs,  partly 
because  they  are  often  interspersed  with  archaic  words  and  forms,  partly  because  they  sometimes 
refer  to  ideas  and  facts,  the  meaning  and  significance  of  which  are  no  longer  understood.  Even  at 
the  present  day  songs  are  often  made  for  special  occasions  and  referring  to  special  facts  in  a  few 
loosely  connected  phrases  of  words,  so  that  even  the  participants  in  the  singing  cannot  always  give 
the  full  meaning  of  the  songs.    They  say  that  the  composer  alone  knows  what  he  really  meant  to  say. 

'  The  word  here  rendered  "celebrate"  is  generally  used  to  designate  any  religious  or  cere- 
monial performance.    Usually,  however, '"  pavasiona  "  instead  of  "  pasiona  "  is  used. 

^The  word  here  translated  "benefited  by  it"  is  another  of  those  Hopi  words  which  are 
difficult  to  translate,  and  which  admit  of  different  meanings.  Sometimes  it  means  "accomplish," 
"conclude."'  It  is  difficult  to  decide  just  what  is  meant.  When  making  inquiries  about  it  the 
author  was  told  that  the  idea  of  the  phrase  was  the  wish  that  the  ceremony  might  be  accomplished 
or  terminated  in  such  a  manner  that  the  object  might  be  reached,  viz.,  to  secure  good  living,  a  good 
subsistence  for  the  Hopis.  f 

*  An  exclamation  denoting  regret,  pity,  sympathy,  etc.,  either  with  the  speaker  himself  or 
with  some  one  else.    The  meaning  varies  somewhat  according  to  the  context. 

*  Reference  is  here  made  to  the  crooks  on  both  sides  of  the  sand  mosaic,  which  with  the 
Hopi  are  the  symbols  of  the  different  ages  of  life.  Thus  on  a  certain  occasion,  during  the 
Wuwuchim  ceremony,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  file  by  the  kiva  of  the  Singer  Society  and 
touch  a  crook,  which  is  the  natsi  (emblem)  of  that  Society,  as  a  prayer  for  a  long  life.  The  shortest 
crooks,  the  Hopi  say,  symbolize  old  age,  because  in  old  age  men  become  smaller  and  use  a  shorter 
crook.  While  the  crooks  seem  to  symbolize  more  the  different  ages  in  life,  the  long  string,  laid  diag- 
onally across  the  sand  mosaic,  and  along  which  the  tiponi  is  waved,  symbolizes  the  way  of  life.  On 
one  of  the  sand  mosaics  in  the  Katcina  initiation  ceremony  the  two  are  combined.  (See  PI.  LIIl. 
The  Powamu  Ceremony,  by  H.  R.  Voth,  published  by  the  Field  Columbian  Museum.)  The  Hopi 
connects  the  idea  of  life  with  the  east,  death  with  the  west.  In  different  ceremonies  the  chief  priest 
buries  a  long  string  road  east  of  the  mesa  in  a  trench  that  runs  eastward  to  the  white  dawn,  the 
yellow  dawn,  the  rising  sun.  When  life  is  symbolically  spoken  of  as  a  journey,  the  thought  predomi- 
nates that  this  journey  goes  eastward;  but  when  the  dead  are  spoken  of  they  are  always  supposed  to 
travel  westward  from  the  grave,  which  they  are  supposed  to  leave  on  the  fourth  day. 

*  The  meaning  probably  is:  .'\s  men  rest  themselves  on  staffs  and  crooks  when  they  are 
weary  m~y  you  so  find  rest,  solace,  and  comfort  all  through  life  when  you  are  weary. 


312      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

Surely  okiwd!  Now,  then,  thus  being  concerned  with  (occupied  by) 
this,  being  happy,  being  strong,  all  the  people  proceed  towards 
to-morrow  (towards)  mornings.^     Thus  be  it! 

The  Antelope  chief  then  hands  the  tiponi  and  meal  to  the  Snake 
chief,  who  goes  through  the  same  performance,  first  in  front  of  the 
novices,  expressing  there  the  same  wish,  and  then  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  altar,  saying  essentially  the  same  words  as  the  Antelope 
priest.  If  the  two  differ  at  all  it  has  not  been  ascertained  just  what 
the  variations  are.  When  he  has  finished,  the  Snake  chief  hands  back 
to  the  Antelope  chief  the  tiponi  and  the  meal,  sprinkles  a  pinch  of 
meal  over  the  altar,  picks  up  the  snake  bags  and  whips  and  leaves,  the 
other  Snakes,  including  the  Snake  novice,  following,  each  one  also 
sprinkling  meal  on  the  altar.  At  the  foot  of  the  ladder  they  stop,  and 
the  chief  priest  says:  "Pai  itam  hahlaikahkango,  ookaokahkango, 
tal6ongnawicni."  Well,  we  happily,  courageously,  go  (on)  towards 
the  morning. 

While  the  Snakes  file  out  to  go  to  their  own  kiva  the  Antelopes 
wait  in  silence,  the  chief  still  holding  the  tiponi,  the  girl  the  batni, 
until  the  last  Snake  has  left  the  kiva.  All  now  sprinkle  meal  to  the 
altar  and  Tobengotiwa  replaces  the  tiponi,  first  waving  it  a  few  inches 
above  the  ground  from  the  six  directions  towards  the  center  of  the 
place  on  which  it  stands.  Hereupon  Sihongwa  takes  the  ceremonial 
costume  from  off  the  girl,  while  the  Antelope  youth  disrobes  himself. 
Some  one  removes  the  nakwas  from  the  scalplocks  of  the  novices. 
These  as  well  as  the  two  costumes  are  placed  on  the  floor  near  the 
altar.  Sihongwa  washes  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  Antelope  maid,  but 
her  face  she  washes  herself.  The  Antelope  youth  washes  himself 
except  the  marks  on  his  back,  which  he  cannot  reach,  and  hence  are 
washed  off  by  Sihongwa. 

The  Antelope  youth  and  maid  then  seat  themselves  on  the  ban- 
quette east  of  the  fireplace.  The  chief  priest  takes  a  black  eagle  wing 
feather  from  the  altar,  steps  in  front  of  the  two,  hands  to  each  a  piece 
of  some  root,  probably  hohoyaonga,  which  they  chew,  takes  a  pinch 
of  ashes  from  the  fireplace  and  then  hums  in  a  low  tone  a  song,  beat- 
ing time  to  the  singing  with  the  feather  which  he  holds  in  his  left  hand. 
Soon  he  waves  the  feather  along  the  front  part  of  the  body  to  the 
knees,  first  of  the  girl  then  of  the  man,  circles  the  feather  in  front  of 
them  a  few  times  and  then,  turning  towards  the  ladder,  points  the 
feather  towards  the  hatchway,  sprinkles  a  small  quantity  of  the  ashes 
along  the  feather  and   toward  the  hatchway.      He  then  repeats  the 

•  In  the  morning  the  priest  says:  "towards  the  evening."  Here  not  the  cardinal  points,  but 
the  time  of  day  is  referred  to. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  313 

performance  just  described  from  five  to  seven  times,  the  number  of 
times  differing  on  various  occasions,  although  it  is  believed  that  six 
times  is  the  proper  number.  When  he  has  done,  he  returns  to  his 
place,  laying  the  feather  on  the  floor  near  the  altar.  The  youth  and 
maid  rise,  spit  the  chewed  roots  into  their  hands  and  rub  their  hands, 
legs,  and  body  with  it.  Hereupon  they  take  from  the  meal  tray  a 
pinch  of  meal,  sprinkle  it  towards  the  altar,  and  the  girl  then  leaves 
the  kiva.  The  man  joins  the  other  men,  who  after  the  ceremony 
generally  sit  around,  chat  and  smoke  a  while,  and  then  take  their  sup- 
per. The  Antelopes  eat  no  meat  or  any  food  containing  salt  on  this 
and  the  three  succeeding  days;  the  chief  priest  eats  only  one  meal 
daily — late  in  the  evening — during  the  same  period.  The  Snakes, 
after  having  arrived  in  their  kiva,  smoke,  converse,  take  their  supper, 
smoke  again,  and  then  retire  for  the  night.  They,  as  well  as  the 
Antelopes,  sleep  in  or  on  their  respective  kivas  as  usual. 


SIXTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(SHUSH  KA  HIMUU;  ONCE  NOT  ANYTHING.) 

Early  in  the  morning  the  Antelope  chief  brings  to  the  Snake  kiva 
the  tray  with  the  four  bahos  and  four  chochokpis  that  he  had  made 
on  the  previous  morning,  and  that  had  been  lying  on  the  west  side  of 
the  sand  mosaic  during  the  day.  With  the  bahos  were  some  nakwak- 
wosis,  but  just  how  many  I  failed  to  learn.  These  prayer  offerings 
are  usually  deposited  by  Antelope  priests,  though  sometimes  by  the 
Snakes,  south  and  west  from  the  village  at  four  different  places  near 
trails.  This,  however,  has  not  been  substantiated,  as  I  never  went 
with  those  messengers.  These  offerings  are  repeated  every  morning 
for  three  days,  with  the  exception,  however,  that  they  are  deposited 
closer  to  the  village  on  each  succeeding  day.'  Soon  after  the  Ante- 
lope priest  has  returned  to  his  kiva  the  Snakes  prepare  for  the  morn- 
ing ceremony  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  As  on  the  previous  evening,  the 
chief  priest  takes  with  him  the  snake  whips,  the  bag  with  the  snake, 
and  all  take  some  corn-meal  and  then  proceed  to  the  Antelope  kiva. 
Here  they  and  the  Antelope  priests  arrange  themselves  in  the  same 
manner  as  on  the  previous  evening  and  exactly  the  same  performance, 
as  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  takes  place  as  on  that  occasion.  As 
that  performance  has  been  fully  described  on  previous  pages  it  does 
not  seem  necessary  to  repeat  the  description.     I  have  repeatedly  tried 

'  This  same  custom  prevails  in  other  ceremonies,  in  some,  for  instance  the  Flute,  the  bahos 
being  made  shorter  each  succeeding  day,  so  that  the  last  one  is  only  about  one  inch  long. 


314      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

to  obtain  some  of  these  songs,  but  have  thus  far  failed.  Even  a  partial 
recording  of  the  songs  while  they  are  being  chanted,  possible  in  other 
ceremonies,  has  been  impossible  in  this  ceremony,  for  three  reasons: 
First,  the  words  are  pronounced  less  disti>nctly  than  is  usually  the  case, 
and  the  singing  is  mostly  low  and  humming;  secondly,  the  intervals 
between  the  songs  are  unusually  short,  so  that  it  is  not  always  possible 
to  find  out  where  one  song  ends  and  the  next  one  begins;  thirdly,  the 
jingling  of  the  bells  of  the  Antelope  youth  and  maid  increases  the 
difficulty  to  catch  words  and  sentences.  I  am  told  that  some  of 
the  songs  are  not  understood  even  by  the  priests,  as  the  language  used 
is  not  understood  by  the  Hopi.'  Repeated  efforts  to  get  at  least  the 
number  of  songs  chanted,  lead  me  to  believe  that  there  are  sixteen, 
though  this  is  by  no  means  certain. 

The  Snake  novice  of  1896,  who  sat  with  the  Antelope  novices  on 
the  previous  evening,  seemed  to  be  considered  a  full  tcwtiwimRa  now, 
as  he  sat  with  the  other  Snake  priests  and  participated  in  the  singing 
from  this  day  on. 

After  the  ceremony,  the  Snakes  return  to  their  kiva,  the  chief 
priest  however  now  saying  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  "Pai  itam 
ctikaokahkang  tapkinawicni"  (Now,  we  being  strengthened,  again  go 
forward  to  the  evening). 

Breakfast  is  then  partaken  of  in  both  kivas,  whereupon  Tob^ngo- 
tiwa  at  once  proceeds  to  make  the  four  green  bahos  and  four  chochokpis 
and  places  them  on  the  west  side  of  the  sand  ridge  again  to  be  con- 
secrated during  the  day  and  deposited  the  next  morning,  as  has  already 
been  stated.  Usually  nothing  of  special  importance  takes  place  in  the 
Antelope  kiva  during  the  day.  Only  in  the  afternoon,  the  sprinkler 
begins  to  make  two  chochokpis,  about  fourteen  inches  long,  and  two 
q6ng6tkis.^  The  latter  consist  of  a  stick  about  two  inches  long  and 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  is  painted  black,  with  the 
exception  of  the  ends,  which  are  painted  green.  To  the  middle  of 
the  stick  is  attached  a  small  eagle  feather  nakwakwosi.  These 
cylinder-like  objects  are  said  to  represent  the  small  clay  balls 
("q6onga")  which  are  formed  by  the  water  in  the  washes,  and  they  are 
considered  to  be  special  prayer  offerings  that  the  washes  may  rise  and 
flood  their  thirsty  fields.  These  cylinders  and  the  two  long  chochokpis 
are  placed  near  the  altar,  there  to  be  consecrated,  as  it  were,  for  use 
later  on.  Some  of  the  Antelope  men  go  to  their  fields;  those  who 
remain  spend  their  time  in  smoking,  eating,  chatting,  sleeping,  etc. 

'  This  pertains  to  nearly  all  Hopi  ceremonies.  The  priest  when  asked  where  these  songs 
come  from,  almost  invariably  points  to  either  Zuni  or  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico. 

'These  qongotkis  (from  qoonga.  ball— tuki,  cut— because  cut  from  a  stick)  are  made  on 
many  occasions  in  Hopi  ceremonies. 


Nov  ,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  315 

In  the  Snake  kiva  the  same  condition  of  affairs  exists  as  on  the 
previous  day.  The  kiva  is  deserted,  only  one  man  usually  being  left 
in  charge  of  the  kiva.  Soon  after  breakfast  the  men  get  ready  for  the 
Snake  hunt  and  leave  at  the  usual  time.'  If  there  be  any  newly  ini- 
tiated members  they  participate  in  the  hunt,  and  are  supposed  to  cap- 
ture their  first  snake.  I  was  told  that  the  hunters  do  not  confine 
themselves  to  any  particular  direction  on  this  day.  They  return  in 
time  for  the  evening  ceremony  in  the  Antelope  kiva.  After  having 
indulged  in  their  usual  smoke  around  the  fireplace  they  renew  their 
body  decoration,  which,  however,  they  sometimes  do  somewhat  hastily, 
and  then  repair  to  the  Antelope  kiva  in  the  usual  manner,  where  the 
same  ceremony  as  that  which  has  already  been  described,  takes  place. 


SEVENTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(PI'KTOTOKA;    PlKl— PROVIDING  DAY.) 

Unfortunately,  the  proceedings  of  the  forenoon  of  this  day  have 
been  observed  in  1898  only,  and  hence  my  notes  on  the  first  part  of 
this  day  are  somewhat  incomplete.  The  following  is  based  on  these 
notes: 

Early  in  the  morning  the  usual  singing  ceremony  took  place  in 
the  Antelope  kiva.  This  was  followed  by  a  short  rest,  smoking,  chat- 
ting, and  then  by  the  morning  meal  and  another  period  of  rest  and 
smoking  in  both  kivas.  In  the  Snake  kiva  some  also  carded  cotton, 
made  and  repaired  moccasins,  and  other  paraphernalia  used  in  the 
ceremony.  Macangontiwa  made  ten  so-called  piitsvahos  (flat  bahos), 
in  which  he  was  assisted  by  two  or  three  of  the  other  men.  These 
bdhos  consist  of  a  small  slab  made  of  cottonwood  root  about  seven 
inches  long,  two  inches  wide,  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  at  the 
edges,  one-half  an  inch  thick  in  the  middle.  They  are  first  painted 
white,  and  then  one  half  green,  the  other  yellow,  both  sides  of  the 
slab  being  painted  alike.  The  two  colors  are  separated  by  a  black 
line,  which  runs  along  the  middle  of  the  baho,  and  which  is  marked 
with  several,  usually  three,  white,  elongated  dots.  Into  each  end  of 
the  slab  is  thrust  a  small  eagle  feather.  On  each  edge,  about  ^n  inch 
from  each  end,  are  two  notches  about  half  an  inch  apart. 

At  about  eleven  o'clock  all  the  snakes  were  transferred  without 
any  special  ceremony  from  the  small  bucksjcin  bags  to  a  large  Ameri- 
can sack  and  placed  on  the  floor  near  the  altar.      The  small  racer  that 

'  .\s  has  already  been  noted,  very  little  hunting  was  done  on  the  fifth  day  in  1896,  and  1  was 
told  that  very  little  hunting  for  snakes  was  done  on  any  day  alter  the  first  four  days  if  a  sufficient 
number  of  snakes  were  found  on  these  last  named  days. 


3i6      Field  Columbian  Museum — ^Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

was  used  in  the  ceremonies  in  the  Antelope  kiva  remained  in  the  buck- 
skin bag  in  front  of  the  fetishes  until  the  ninth  day. 

While  the  chief  priest,  assisted,  as  has  been  stated,  by  others, 
made  the  flat  bahos,  several  of  the  men  began  to  make  or  repair  their 
so-called  tcti-nakwas,  which  consist  of  a  bunch  of  eagle  breath  feath- 
ers, all  stained  red,  and  of  bluebird  wing  and  tail  feathers.*  Of  the 
latter,  two  were  tied  together  by  the  quill  ends  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  spread  apart  and  these  were  then  fastened  to  the  tips  of  the 
eagle  feathers.  These  "head-dresses"  are  worn  at  the  public  perform- 
ance on  the  ninth  day.  Two  Snake  costumes  were  also  put  in  order 
to  be  used  by  two  of  the  men  later  on,  when  they  were  to  act  as 
kal^htakas  (warriors).  These  two  men,  Puhtinomtiwa  and  Q6tcvoyaoma 
somewhat  later,  made  some  so-called  kalehtak  (warrior)  bahos;  the 
first  made  four,  the  latter  five.  These  consist  of  a  single,  undecorti- 
cated  stick,  about  seven  inches  long,  to  the  upper  end  of  which  is 
fastened  a  short  eagle  wing  feather,  and  at  about  the  place  where 
this  feather  is  fastened  is  tied  an  eagle  nakwakwosi  and  a  packet, 
made  of  corn-husk,  containing  presumably  the  usual  pinch  of  corn- 
meal  and  honey.  A  few  such  bahos  are  made  in  nearly  every  Hopi 
ceremony. 

While  the  paint  on  the  flat  bahos,  previously  referred  to,  was  dry- 
ing, Macangontiwa  made  six  common  double  green  bahos  and  C6ka- 
oma  four.  All  who  made  bahos  placed  them  on  the  floor  in  front  of 
themselves,  and  then  smoked  over  them,  and  when  later  on  the  ten 
flat  and  nine  warrior  bdhos  were  completed,  they  were  placed  on  a 
tray  and  Macingontiwa  and  the  two  warriors  again  smoked  over 
them. 

Thus  far  my  notes  on  the  proceedings  in  the  Snake  kiva  during 
the  forenoon.  Before  recording  those  of  the  afternoon,  which  have 
been  observed  several  times,  I  shall  give  a  brief  description  of  the 
doings  in  the  Antelope  kiva  during  the  forenoon,  which,  as  already 
stated,  have  also  been  observed  only  once  (in  1898). 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  early  in  the  morning,  the  usual 
mutual  morning  ceremony  took  place  in  the  Antelope  kiva,  which  was 
followed  by  an  interval  of  rest,  conversation,  smoking,  and  the  usual 
morning  meal.  After  breakfast  the  priests  occupied  themselves  in 
various  ways,  repairing  moccasins,  smoking,  making  prayer  offerings, 
etc.  Of  the  latter,  the  following  were  made,  as  far  as  recorded, 
though  I  am  uncertain  whether  my  notes  in  that  respect  are  complete: 

Tob^ngotiwa    made    fourteen    double    green    bahos    and     seven 

»  In  the  village  of  the  second  mesa  a  bunch  of  owl  feathers,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned 
above,  is  used. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   CLXV. 

A 


Pl.  CLXV.   The  Lightning  Frame. 

A.  The  lightning  frame  closed. 

B.  The  lightning  frame  open. 

This  Plate  has  otherwise  no  bearing  on  the  ceremony  described  in  this  paper, 
but  shows  some  katcinas,  the  one  having  the  lightning  frame  being  the  S6tukv- 
nangwu  katcina.  This  negative  was  used,  because,  of  the  Snake  ceremony,  none 
showing  the  lightning  frame  was  obtainable.  It  should  be  stated  however,  that 
the  frames  are  usually  smaller  than  the  one  shown  on  this  Plate. 


s[4  aiffT 
jiD36}(  srooe  ewoffg  Juc! 

!  pninJrigH  i>d1  gniwoile 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  317 

chochokpis,  Karzhongniwa  assisting  him.  Four  of  each  of  these  were 
placed  on  the  west  side  of  the  sand  mosaic,  again  to  be  deposited  the 
next  morning.  What  was  done  with  the  others  was  not  definitely 
ascertained — most  of  them  were  sent  away  to  distant  places. 

Kiwanhoya  made  two  black  chochokpis,  about  fourteen  inches 
long,  four  short  ones,  about  five  inches  long,  four  double  green  bdhos, 
two  wheels,  and  he  finished  two  qongdtkis  (cylinders),  already 
described  on  a  previous  page.  The  wheels  are  made- of  the  leaves  of 
a  plant  called  in  Hopi  "wipo. "  First  a  ring  from  two  to  three  inches 
in  diameter  is  formed  of  some  of  the  narrow  leaves,  and  this  ring  is 
wrapped  within  another  leaf,  and  the  whole  is  then  painted  black. 
Into  two  sides  of  the  wheel  are  thrust  four  duck  feathers  and  to  a 
third  side  is  fastened  a  nakwakwosi  of  a  duck  feather.  One  of  these 
two  wheels  and  one  cylinder,  Kiwanhoya  tied  to  one  of  the  long 
chochokpis,  the  other  cylinder  and  wheel  he  tied  to  the  other 
chochokpi,  and  then  placed  one  on  each  side  of  the  medicine  bowl. 

Mokahtiwa  made  four  pdhus,  the  strings  of  which  he  painted  red. 

Thus  far,  my  notes  on  the  proceedings  in  the  Antelope  kiva 
during  the  forenoon.  We  now  again  proceed  to  the  Snake  kiva  to 
note  the  events  transpiring  in  that  chamber  in  the  afternoon. 

Besides  repairing  of  moccasins  and  other  paraphernalia,  and  spin- 
ning of  cotton,  four  lightning  frames  (see  PI.  165)  are  repaired  for  use 
by  the  two  warriors.  As  this  is  not  a  regular  snake  hunting  day, 
some  of  the  men  sometimes  go  out  in  the  afternoon,  still  trying  to  find 
some  snakes.  Some  hunting  was  done  every  year  except  in  1896.  At 
about  three  o'clock,  Macangontiwa  takes  a  tray  containing,  as  nearly 
as  I  could  learn,  the  flat  bdhos,  the  warriors'  bahos,  four  or  perhaps 
six  double  green  bahos,  and  a  number  of  nakwdkwosis  which  have  been 
made  in  the  Snake  kiva,  also  a  bullroarer,  some  honey  and  meal,  and 
repairs  with  this  tray  to  the  Antelope  kiva,  where  he  and  the  Antelope 
chief  smoke  over  them.  A  part  of  them  are  then  handed  to  one  of  the 
Antelope  priests,  who  is  to  take  them  to  a  distant  place,  as  will  be 
presently  described  more  fully;  the  rest  he  takes  back  to  the  Snake 
kiva,  placing  the  tray  on  the  floor  near  the  altar.  Nothing  of  special 
importance  transpires  after  this  in  the  Snake  kiva.  When  the  time 
for  the  evening  ceremony  approaches  the  Snakes  again  redaub  their 
bodies,  comb  their  hair,  put  on  their  common  kilts,  and  proceed  to 
the  Antelope  kiva  in  the  manner  already  described. 

Nothing  of  any  special  importance  occurs  in  the  Antelope  kiva 
during  the  first  part  of  the  afternoon.  Besides  the  usual  four  green 
and  four  black  bdhos  that  are  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  sand 
mosaic  I  noticed  on  one  occasion  two  green    bahos  and  one  large 


3i8      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

chochokpi  on  the  south-west  corner  of  the  sand  mosaic,  and  two  bahos 
with  the  corn-ears  of  the  novices  on  the  south  side  of  the  altar.'  On 
one  occasion  I  noticed  that  a  number  of  nakwakwosis,  that  had  been 
made  by  different  men,  were  taken  out  by  a  small  boy,  but  I  failed  to 
learn  the  particulars  about  it.^ 

The  messenger,  already  referred  to,  who  is  to  get  the  water  for 
the  race  that  is  to  take  place  the  next  morning,  must  belong  to  the 
Batki  clan,  or  some  clan  related  to  it,  such  as  the  Pihkash  (Young  Corn 
Ear)  or  Omawu  (cloud)  clan.  The  water  on  this  day  is  gotten  from 
Tilhciwa,  a  spring  about  three  miles,  or  from  Toriva,  a  spring  about 
ten  miles  south-east  from  Oraibi.  Usually  the  messenger  does  not 
return  to  the  village  the  same  day,  but  sleeps  in  the  valley  at  the  place 
where  the  race  starts  the  next  morning.  If  he  be,  as  is  not  usually 
the  case  however,  an  elderly  man,  or  if  it  rains,  he  returns  to  the  kiva, 
hands  the  water,  etc.,  to  the  Antelope  priest,  who  smokes  over  it. 
He  then  sleeps  in  the  kiva,  and  returns  to  the  starting-place  of  the 
race  very  early  the  next  morning,  taking  with  him  the  mongwikuru 
with  water  to  which  is  tied  a  small  corn-ear  and  one  of  the  .large 
chochokpis  with  the  wheel  and  cylinder. 

When  starting  for  the  spring  he  takes  with  him  from  the  Ante- 
lope kiva  the  following  objects:  The  mongwikuru  with  the  objects 
attached  to  it,  as  just  mentioned,  a  ball  made  of  clay  by  the  Antelope 
chief,  a  long  buzzard  wing  feather,  an  eagle-bone  whistle  (t6t6qpi), 
some  corn-meal,  corn-pollen  and  honey,  and  a  number  of  bahos. 

From  the  Chief  Snake  priest  he  receives:  a  bullroarer,  meal, 
honey,  some  warriors'  bahos,  and  some  flat  and  green  bahos.  All 
these  objects  are  wrapped  into  an  old  ceremonial  blanket  (at6o),  which 
he  ties  by  its  corners  and  hangs  over  his  left  shoulder.  The  water 
vessel  with  the  objects  attached  to  it  he  holds  in  his  right  hand. 
He  is  attired  in  a  white,  unembroidered  kilt  and  moccasins  only,  but 
takes  with  him  a  blanket  for  the  night.  When  he  is  ready  to  start, 
the  two  chief  priests  say  to  him,  "Pai  um  hahlaikang  aohakamini!" 
(Now  gladly  you  will  go  somewhere!),' to  which  he  replies,  standing 
at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  "Uma  hahlaikahkang  nui  nuhtaita"  (Joy- 
fully you  wait  for  me),  and  then  leaves.  Hereupon  the  Snake  chief 
picks  up  his  tray  and  takes  it  to  his  own  kiva,  as  has  already  been 
stated.     The  Antelope  chief  sits  down  near  the  fireplace  and  smokes. 

Shortly  after   the   time   for  the   ceremony   is   announced   to   the 

'  They  were  undoubtedly  those  made  by  the  sprinkler  during  this  day,  and  were  given  to  and 
disposed  of  by  the  water  carriers  and  the  race  winners  later  on. 

'  While  revising  this  manuscript  one  of  the  priests  tells  me  that  these  were  offerings  to 
T7!wilpongturasi  or  Tihkuywuhti.    (See  the  chapter,  "  The  Snake  Legend,"  of  this  paper.) 


Nov  ,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  319 

Snakes,  who  at  once  proceed  to  the  Antelope  kiva  in  the  same  manner 
as  before  described,  being  arrayed  in  their  common  kilts  only,  and 
the  singing  ceremony  is  gone  through  in  the  same  manner  as  already 
described.  In  1898,  when  Sihongwa  had  been  sent  away  as  messen- 
ger, Lomayeshtiwa  took  his  place  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
altar.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the  Antelope  priests  brought  a  little 
novice  in  at  this  juncture,  gave  him  a  white  corn-ear,  after  making 
him  sprinkle  a  little  meal  to  the  altar,  tied  the  usual  ndkwa  into  his 
hair,  and  seated  him  on  the  floor  east  of  the  sand  mosaic,  sitting  down 
by  his  right  side. 

While  this  ceremony  is  going  on  in  the  usual  way,  we  follow  the 
messenger  to  the  distant  spring  and  see  how  he  disposes  of  the  prayer 
offerings  that  have  been  intrusted  to  him  and  how  he  obtains  the  water 
he  is  sent  to  get.  The  information  about  this  errand,  however,  is  not 
based  upon  personal  observation,  but  was  furnished  me  later,  by  one 
of  the  Antelopes,  who  acted  as  messenger  one  time.  As  he  is  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  mine,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  his  statements  are 
true,"  as  far  as  he  could  give  them. 

Descending  the  mesa  on  the  main  trail  leading  towards  the  south- 
east, he  soon  came  upon  a  place  called  Kuritvahchikpu.  Here  he 
first  twirled  the  bullroarer,  deposited  a  pinch  of  meal,  put  a  drop  of 
honey  into  his  mouth  and  spurted  it  into  the  air,  and  then  deposited 
the  following  prayer  offerings:  One  green  baho,  made  by  the  Antelope 
priest,  one  chochokpi,  made  by  the  asperger,  and  numerous  nakwak- 
wosis,  made  by  the  men  of  both  fraternities.^  Proceeding  along  the 
trail  towards  the  south-east,  he  soon  arrived  at  a  place  that  seems  to 
have  no  special  name,  where  he  went  through  the  same  performance 
and  deposited  the. same  prayer  offerings.  At  Kukdkwushchomo,  a 
short  distance  farther  south-east,  he  does  the  same.  About  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  farther  on  is  the  place  from  where  the  race  is  to  start  the 
next  morning.  Here  he  went  through  the  same  performance  and 
deposited  similar  objects.  The  four  places  thus  far  mentioned  are 
located  in  the  broad  valley  east  of  Ordibi.  Leaving  the  last-named 
place  the  messenger  left  the  trail  and  proceeded  due  east  towards  a 
large  mesa  on  the  south  side  of  which,  about-half  way  up,  is  located 

'The  name  of  the  man  is  not  given,  as  he  asked  me  not  "to  tell  on  him,"  and  would  be 
unnecessarily  subjected  to  severe  censure  were  this  publication  shown  to  the  societies  mostly 
concerned. 

»  As  to  the  kind  and  number  of  b&hos  taken  along  and  their  exact  disposition,  the  statements 
of  this  messenger  and  another  one  who  got  water  once,  and  those  of  a  racer  who  passed  the  places 
where  the  bAhos  are  placed  are  so  conflicting  that  personal  observation  only  will  probably  settle  that 
point.  The  fact  that  these  men  perhaps  get  water  only  once  or  twice  in  their  lifetime,  and  have  so 
many  bilbos  to  dispose  of,  and  these  at  five  different  places,  may  account  for  the  conflicting  state- 
ments; in  fact,  they  say  they  have  forgotten  some  of  the  details. 


320      F'lELD  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

the  spring  Ttihciwa,  to  which  he  was  going.  Arriving  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  spring,  he  stopped  and  twirled  the  buUroarer  and  blew 
his  eagle-bone  whistle  to  announce,  he  said,  to  the  water  deities  (the 
Bal6l6kongwuu  and  Clouds — the  latter  in  this  connection  being  con- 
sidered personifications)  his  presence.  Approaching  a  little  nearer, 
he  blew  the  whistle  again.  Going  still  nearer  he  did  the  same  thing, 
repeating  it  a  fourth  time.  Hereupon  he  deposited  the  last  bahos  and 
nakwakwosis,  the  same  as  at  the  other  places,  and  also  one  flat  and 
one  warrior  baho,  and  then,  with  his  face  turned  toward  the  spring, 
uttered  the  following  prayer: 

"Taa  nu  yep  it  umiingam  kiva.  It  akw  nu  limuya  chamto.  Uma 
6wi  it  nacikahkang  piiu  yang  itah  tigi  angyoknagani.  Piiu  ima 
pavdnmamantu  put  akw  omi  nawungwnakang  natukvcinayaq;  piiu  ita 
put  conaikahkang  yep  talat  ep  hahlaigani.  Yan  lima  itamungem 
kuwanqololayaq  ita  anghahlaiyani.  Pdu  put  ima  itahpokomu  nonove 
t6wat  hahlaigani.  Piiu  shoshoyam  hihihtu  akwlolomatoti.  Pantakat 
owi  itam  maksoniyungwa.  Pas  pai  6vi  okio  pantani !  Owi  um  itamui 
okwatotwani.  Pai  tuma.  Itam  shoshoyam  aoyani.  Owi  ka  hak  haki 
inalni!     Uma  shoshoyam  iniingkyani !" 

TRANSLATION. 

Now,  then,  this  here,'  I  have  brought  for  you.  With  this  I  have 
come  to  fetch  you.  Hence,  being  arrayed  in  this,  thus  rain  on  our 
crop!  Then  will  these  corn-stalks  be  growing  up  by  that  rain;  when 
they  mature,  we  shall  here  in  the  light,''  being  nurtured,^  be  happy. 
When  you  thus  beautiful  grasses  (herbs)  will  provide  bountifully,  we 
shall  be  glad  over  them.  Then  these  our  animals  when  they  eat  (lit., 
as  soon  as  they  eat,  or  upon  eating)  will  also  be  happy  over  it.  Then 
all  living  things  will  be  good  (in  good  condition).  Therefore  do  we 
thus  go  to  the  trouble  of  assembling.*  Hence  it  must  be  thus.* 
Therefore  have  pity  on  us!  Now  let  us  go!  We  shall  all  go.*  There 
(let)  no  one  keep  any  one  back.     You  all  follow  me. 

'  Refers  to  the  prayer  offerings. 

'The  meaning  of  this  expression  is  somewhat  obscure.  My  informant  thought  it  was  an 
archaic  way  of  saying  "  in  this  life." 

'Namely,  by  the  corn.  The  word  is  also  used  in  Hopi  to  express  the  idea  of  transmitting 
health  into  a  patient  by  rubbing  the  germ  of  a  healthy  grain  of  corn  over,  or  as  they  say  into,  his 
body,  or  of  conveying  new  vigor  and  soundness  into  a  corn  ear  whose  soundness  is  doubted  by  mtro- 
ducing  into  its  core  healthy  grains  of  corn,  etc. 

*  M&ksoniyungwa.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  the  literal  meaning  of  this  term  in  one 
word.  The  first  part  means  "troublesome,"  "weary,"  "tedious;"  the  second  "go  in,"  referring  to 
the  "  going  into  "  the  kiva  or  "  assembling  "  for  the  ceremony. 

*  I.  e.,  as  the  messenger  has  just  said. 

*  I.  e.,  the  clouds,  which  are  here  personified,  and  which  he  has  addressed.  , 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  321 

He  then  enters  the  spring,  lowers  the  little  netted  gourd  (mongwi- 
kuru)  into  the  water  to  the  rim,  sprinkles  some  meal  into  it  from  the 
six  cardinal  directions,  and  then  dips  some  water  into  it  with  the  long 
buzzard  feather,  also  from  the  six  ceremonial  directions.  He  then 
does  the  same  with  the  corn-ear  and  then  fills  the  vessel,  whereupon 
he  leaves  the  spring  and  returns  to  the  village,  twirling  the  bullroarer 
all  the  way  until  he  arrives  at  the  edge  of  the  mesa.  Arriving  in  the 
kiva  all  say  "Kwakwdi  um  plto"  (Thanks,  you  have  come).  The  chief 
adds,  Ita  pas  pai  akw  m6ngwact(^tini"  (We  must  bring  this  to  a  con- 
clusion).' The  things  are  then  placed  on  the  floor  north  of  the  fire- 
place and  Tob^ngotiwa,  assisted  by  some  of  the  older  priests,  smoke 
over  them.  Usually,  however,  as  has  already  been  observed,  the 
messenger  does  not  return  to  the  kiva,  but  remains  at  the  place  where 
the  race  starts  early  the  next  morning. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurs  in  either  kiva  after  the  ceremony, 
smoking,  talking,  the  evening  meal,  etc.,  occupying  the  evening  until 
the  time  for  retirement.'* 


EIGHTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(TOTdiCA;    FOOD  PROVIDING.) 

The  men  in  both  kivas  are  stirring  at  a  very  early  hour.  At  about 
three  o'clock  the  fire  is  built.  The  first  to  get  ready  is  the  messenger* 
who  got  the  water  from  a  distant  spring  on  the  previous  evening,  and 
the  two  kal^htakas  (warriors)  in  the  Snake  kiva,  who  are  to  play  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  proceedings  of  this  and  the  next  morning.  At 
about  half-past  three  o'clock  the  warriors  put  on  their  snake  kilts, 
take  the  lightning  frames  and  bullroarers  and  leave  the  kiva.  Outside 
they  shoot  the  lightning  frame  toward  the  east  and  then  go  around 
the  kiva  five  times,  twirling  the  bullroarers  almost  constantly.  They 
then  proceed  to  the  Antelope  kiva  and  repeat  the  same  performance. 
Returning  to  their  kiva  they  go  around  again  three  times  twirling  the 
bullroarer.  Entering  the  kiva  they  again  shoot  the  lightning  frame 
and  go  around  in  an  elliptical  circuit,  swinging  the  bullroarer  several 
times.  They  then  take  off  their  snake  kilts.  On  one  occasion  the 
chief  priest  came  in  at  this  juncture,  seemingly  just  having  gotten  up, 

'  See  footnote  3  on  page  41. 

»  I  find  in  my  notes  of  1896  the  following  observation:  Before  the  Snakes  had  filed  out  a  woman 
brought  some  food  which  Si'bongwa  took  into  the  kiva,  stepping  into  the  deeper  portion  east  of  the 
ladder,  going  around  the  fireplace  and  on  to  the  elevated  portion  west  of  the  ladder,  depositing  the 
food  on  the  floor.  I  do  not  remember  ever  having  seen  a  female  in  either  of  the  two  kivas,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Antelope  maids  and  some  little  novices. 

'  Provided  he  did  not  remain  in  the  valley  when  bringing  the  water  the  previous  evening. 


322       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

and  at  once  engaged  in  smoking,  in  which  the  two  warriors,  taking  off 
the  moccasins  from  their  feet,  joined  him. 

Later,  usually  at  about  four  o'clock,  the  warriors  again  put  on 
their  kilts,  shoot  the  lightning  frame,  and  circle  around  in  the  Snake 
kiva,  repeat  the  same  outside  at  the  Snake  and  the  Antelope  kiva,  and 
a  second  time  outside  of  and  also  in  the  Snake  kiva.  The  number  of 
times  they  go  around  the  kivas  varies  between  three  and  seven  times, 
but  it  is  believed  four  times  is  the  number  intended. 

At  about  half-past  three  o'clock  the  rest  of  the  men  of  both  soci- 
eties rise.  The  two  warriors  daub  their  bodies  in  the  usual  manner, 
but  this  time  rub  considerable  ctita  on  their  faces.  They  put  on  their 
snake  kilts,  buckskin-fringed  belts,  and  also,  I  am  told,  their  snake 
head-dresses  (tc6-nakwas),  though  my  notes  fail  to  state  that.  They 
then  repeat  their  procession,  twirling  of  bullroarers,  etc.,  around 
both  kivas  and  in  the  Snake  kiva. 

All  the  Snake  men  now  renew  their  body  decoration^,  as  the 
so-called  Antelope  race  is  about  to  begin.  At  about  a  quarter  of  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  two  warriors  take  a  number  of  flat  and 
other  bahos  from  the  tray,  and  then  repeat  for  the  fourth  time  the 
processions  around  the  kiva,  but  instead  of  returning  to  the  Snake 
kiva  they  leave  the  mesa  on  the  trail,  leading  south-eastward,  which  the 
messenger  had  taken  on  the  previous  evening  and  on  which,  in  case 
he  slept  in  the  village,  he  has  already  preceded  them  to  the  starting- 
place  of  the  race,  about  to  begin.  At  the  different  places  where  the 
water  carrier  has  deposited  his  bahos  they  deposit  theirs,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:'  After  having  turned  the  green  baho  of  the  water 
carrier  around,  i.e.,  turned  its  facet  toward  the  village,  and  having 
pulled  out  the  water  carrier's  chochokpi  that  stood  south-east  from  the 
green  baho,  with  its  face  turned  from  the  village,  and  thrust  it  into 
the  ground  north-west  of  the  green  baho  facing  now  towards  the  village, 
the  first  warrior  thrusts  a  flat  baho  into  the  ground  between  the  green 
baho  and  chochokpi;  the  second  warrior  a  red  warrior's  baho  at  the 
place  where  they  have  taken  out  the  chochokpi.  At  the  next  place 
they  repeat  the  performance,  only  here,  the  second  warrior  puts  down 
the  flat  baho  and  the  leader  the  red  kalehtak  (usually  "tak")  baho, 
etc.  As  they  go  along  they  frequently  turn  their  bullroarers.  Other 
men  and  boys  who  intend  to  participate  in  the  race  join,  follow, 
and  pass  them,  going  to  the  starting-place.  Sometimes  one  or  two 
others  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  have  bullroarers,  too,  that  they  swing 

'  It  has  already  been  stated  in  a  previous  footnote  that  some  confusion  exists  concerning  the 
prayer  offerings  of  the  water  carrier.  But  after  sifting  all  the  information  obtained  on 'the  subject 
from  different  men,  it  is  believed  that  the  disposition  of  the  prayer  offerings  is  supposed  to  be  made, 
and  usually  is  made,  in  the  manner  given  in  the  text. 


Nov  ,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  323 

occasionally.  At  the  starting-place  the  bahos,  I  understand,  are 
mostly  deposited  at  one  end  of  the  line  of  racers.  But  if  more  than 
the  required  number  have  been  made,  which  is  sometimes  the  case, 
as  has  been  mentioned  in  a  previous  footnote,  they  are  deposited  at 
the  other  end.  A  number  of  men  and  boys  have  in  the  mean  while  left 
the  village  and  have  gone  to  the  cornfields  in  the  valley  to  get  green 
corn-stalks,  the  disposition  of  which  will  be  mentioned  later  on.' 
While  thus  the  race  is  being  inaugurated  in  various  ways,  we  direct 
our  attention  to  the  Antelope  kiva,  where  the  necessary  preparations 
are  made  for  the  exercises  that  are  to  interlink  with  the  race  at  the 
proper  time. 

At  about  five  o'clock  Tobengotiwa  has  made  a  new  meal  circle 
around  the  kiva.  The  Antelope  youth  and  maid  are  dressed  and 
painted  up,  the  nine  cigarettes  ready,  the  four  bahos  that  were  made 
the  previous  day  deposited;  in  fact,  everything  prepared  as  usual. 
At  about  half-past  five  o'clock  the  Snakes  are  called.  Usually  only 
the  chief  priest  and  one  or  two  of  the  older  men  come,  as  the  younger 
Snake  members  participate  in  the  race,  as  explained,  and  two  or  three 
of  the  older  men,  decorated  and  dressed  the  same  as  the  two  warriors, 
have  gone  to  the  edge  of  the  mesa  in  order  to  sprinkle  the  racers  with 
sacred  meal  upon  their  arrival  on  the  mesa.  Usually  these  men  go 
down  the  mesa,  too,  and  return  with  a  stalk  of  green  corn.  Whether 
they  get  these  from  the  fields  themselves  or  obtain  them  from  others 
at  the  foot  of  the  mesa,  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  have  reasons  to 
believe  that  the  latter  is  the  case. 

As  soon  as  the  Snake  priests  have  seated  themselves,  the  usual 
smoking  of  cigarettes  takes  place,  the  crooks  and  snake  whips  are  then 
distributed,  the  tfponi  and  snake  handed  to  the  Antelope  youth,  the 
bdtni,  with  its  contents,  to  the  Antelope  maid,  in  fact  everything  is 
made  ready  to  begin  the  singing  ceremony  at  a  moment's  notice,  where- 
upon all  silently  wait  for  the  signal  to  commence  the  singing.  The 
manner  in  which  this  signal  is  given  will  be  described  presently.  We 
now  again  turn  our  attention  to  the  race.  I  have  never  witnessed  the 
ceremonies  at  the  starting-place,  but  have  reasons  to  believe  that  the 
following  description,  furnished  me  by  participants,  is  correct:  The 
first  one  to  arrive  at  the  place'^  where  the  race  is  to  begin  is  the  mes- 
senger who  got  the  water  in  a  mdngwikuru  on  the  previous  evening. 
He  has  with  him  this  vessel,  a  pdhu,  and  one  of  the  long  chochokpis 

>  Some  of  the  members  of  both  fraternities  also  get  cornstalks  from  the  cornfields,  others 
swarm  along  the  race  track,  and  all  join  the  racers  as  they  arrive  from  the  starting-place  and  race 
along,  but  no  participant  in  the  ceremony  is  allowed  to  contend  for  the  prize. 

'  Usually  he  sleeps  there,  as  has  already  been  stated  elsewhere. 


324      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

with  the  rain  wheel  and  the  small  cylinder,'  prepared  by  the  sprinkler 
on  the  seventh  day.  Soon  after  his  arrival  the  two  warriors  put  in 
their  appearance.  They  have  deposited  at  each  of  the  three  places 
already  mentioned  a  flat,  a  warrior's  (red),  and  probably  also  a  green 
baho  and  some  nakwakwosis  and  corn-meal.^  They  also  have  been 
swinging  their  bullroarers  and  shooting  their  lightning  frames  while  en 
route  to  this  place.  With  and  soon  after  them,  arrive  the  would-be 
participants  in  the  race.  When  all  are  assembled,  the  water  carrier 
rubs  a  little  clay  into  the  men's  hands  and  then  lays  the  ptlhu  on  the 
trail,  pointing  out,  as  it  were,  the  way  to  the  village.  He  then  faces 
the  men  who  have  drawn  up  in  line  across  the  trail,  and  says: 

"Pai  ita  hahlaikahkang'  y6htukni.  Owi  lima  totim,  hohongwitu, 
shush  ka  natushitotani!  Nap  hakawat  momik  yamakat  itam  put  atswi 
tawat  ka  nashami  pitoq  hiyanikae.  Tflnatyaolcahkango  imui  itangumui, 
itanamui  kiyamayui  yaiwawicni,  yiingwicni;  pai  hahlaikahkango, 
ookaokahlcango!     Taatumai!" 

translation. 

Now  we  shall  race  joyfully.  Hence  you  strong  young  men  do  not 
once  detain  each  other!*  Whoever  comes  out  ahead,  on  his  account* 
we  shall  drink*  when  the  sun  has  not  yet  come  half-way.'  Being  con- 
cerned (about  this)  to  these  our  mothers,  our  fathers,  to  the  village, 
we  shall  ascend,  we  shall  enter  it,  happily,  courageously.      Now  go  we! 

The  messenger  then  speeds  away  and  soon  the  racers  say  to  the 
warriors:  "Taa  ita  paiyyani;  pai  pi  yapni"  (There,  be  we  off;  he  is 
already  off). 

After  a  few  seconds  they  repeat  their  clamoring:  "Taa  ita  paiy- 
yani" (now  let  us  be  [be  we]  off).  And  after  a  short  interval,  during 
which  their  impatience  has  been  growing,  they  say:  "Taa,  ita  paiy- 
yani; pai  pi  tawa  yama"  (Now  be  we  off;  why  the  sun  is  already  up). 
Each  of  the  two  warriors  then  repeats  the  water  carrier's  speech — 

'  The  other  one  I  noticed  in  the  morning  at  the  south  side  of  the  Antelope  altar.  Their  use 
•will  be  explained  by  and  by. 

"  The  information  as  to  the  exact  kind  and  number  of  bAhos  these  warriors  take  along,  and 
just  where  and  how  they  deposit  them,  is  also  conflicting,  and  will  need  further  study  by  special 
personal  observation. 

^  Here  the  warriors  afterwards  say  "  ciikaokahkang!" 

*  1.  e.,  do  not  try  to  win  by  keeping  others  back,  but  by  honestly  exerting  yourself. 

*  Because  the  winner  receives  the  sacred  water  as  a  prize,  which  is  believed  to  bring  rain,  as 
•will  be  explained  later  on. 

'  It  was  explained  to  me  that  the  messenger  here  speaks  in  behalf  of  the  thirsty  crops,  for 
■which  this  ceremony  is  celebrated,  for  which  he  is  sent  to  fetch  the  clouds,  and  which  are  eagerly 
waiting  to  drink  the  expected  rain. 

'  By  this  the  anxiety  is  expressed  that  the  looked-for  rain  should  not  procrastinate,  but  come 
soon. 


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UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXVI. 

A 


Photo    by  Oscar  Depew. 


Pl.  CLXVI.   Scenes  at  the  Edge  of  the  Mesa. 

A.  Corn-stalk  bearers  begin  to  arrive  at  the  edge  of  the  mesa. 

B.  Spectators  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  racers. 


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PL.  CLXVII. 
Racers  arriving  at  the  edge  of  the  Mesa. 


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OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


PL.  CLXVIII. 
Priests  sprinkling  the  racers  with  corn-meal. 


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1 

^E^OtH 

:.ted  <:v  i/i 


•0  Hi  air 

PL.  CLXIX. 
Priests  sprinkling  the  racers  with  corn-meal. 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  325 

verbatim,  my  informant  claims — the  water  carrier  speeding  on  while 
they  do  so.  After  they  have  both  repeated  the  speech,  both  twirl 
their  bullroarers  and  shoot  their  lightning  frames,  and  then  they  also 
start,  but  both  describing  an  elongated  half-circuit  from  and  again  to 
the  trail,  one  on  one,  the  other  on  the  other  side;  where  they  meet 
each  one  crosses  to  the  opposite  side  and  a'gain  runs  in  a  half-circle 
from  and  again  to  the  trail,  but  always  making  towards  the  village. 
This  they  do  four  times  in  all.  At  the  places  where  they  cross  the 
trail  they  shoot  the  lightning  frames.  When  they  cross  the  first  time 
the  racers  give  a  yell  which  is  the  signal  for  the  priests  in  the  Ante- 
lope kiva  to  commence  the  singing.  This  signal  is  transmitted  to  the 
kfva  in  the  following  manner.  At  the  edge  of  the  mesa  is  seated  a 
man  and  on  one  of  the  houses  close  to  the  kiva,  sometimes  on  the  ki'va 
roof,  a  woman.  As  soon  as  the  man  hears  the  yell  he  jumps  up  and 
immediately  the  woman  notifies  the  men  in  the  kfva  that  the  racers 
have  started,  whereupon  the  singing  commences. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  water  carrier  had  run  ahead 
with  the  water  vessel.  To  the  one  that  overtakes  him  first  he  hands 
the  vessel  and  the  long  chochokpi '  and  then  runs  on  with  the  racers. 
Those  things  now  become  the  objects  of  contention  for  the  racers.  If 
one  overtakes  the  holder  of  them  the  latter  has  to  hand  them  over  to 
his  successful  rival,  and  he  to  the  next  one,  if  one  overtake  him,  etc. 
Along  the  route  the  racers  are  met  by  the  participants  in  the  cere- 
mony from  both  kfvas,  who,  as  already  stated,  do  not  really  participate 
in  the  race,  at  least  not  the  entire  length  of  the  route,  but  join  the 
racers  along  the  route  after  having  deposited  prayer  offerings  in  the 
shrines.  Those  (two  I  believe)  from  the  Snake  kfva  who  have  bull- 
roarers  twirl  them  occasionally.  Nearer  and  nearer  the  line  of  racers 
approaches  the  mesa.  Those  who  have  gone  after  corn-stalks  have  in 
the  mean  while  gathered  at  the  foot  of  the  mesa  to  greet  and  then 
accompany  the  racers.  Some  of  the  smaller  boys  await  them  on 
ledges  higher  up.  The  edge  of  the  mesa  is  usually  lined  with  hun- 
dreds of  spectators  (see  PI.  166),  whose  eyes  are  turned  towards  the 
valley  four  hundred  feet  below.  At  the  place  where  the  trail  reaches 
the  top  of  the  mesa  stand  several  grim-looking  snake  priests,  in  their 
usual  costume  and  decoration,  with  their  bags  of  sacred  meal  to  sprinkle 
the  racers  as  they  sweep  by  them.     (See  Pis.  167,  168,  and  169.) 

Shortly  after  sunrise  the  first  racers  arrive  at  the  edge  of  the 
mesa  panting  and  bathed  in  perspiration.  The  first  one  carries  the 
netted  gourd  vessel  and  the  chochdkpi.      He  is  preceded  and  accom- 

'  This  may  be  done  anywhere  before  he  reaches  the  kiva.  It  no  one  overtakes  him  he  takes 
it  into  the  kiva  himself,  where  it  is  taken  care  of  in  the  usual  manner,  and  then  handed  to  the  first 
racer  reaching  the  kiva. 


326      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

panied  by  others,  who  carry  corn-stalks.  (See  PI.  170.)  The  two 
warriors  are  also  usually  among  the  first  to  arrive.  Those  of  the 
Snake  and  Antelope  priests  who  have  brought  corn-stalks  throw  them 
into  the  crowd  and  dash  on  towards  the  Antelope  kiva,  .which  they 
enter,  taking  their  accustomed  places.  Events  now  crowd  themselves 
in  front  of  the  village  and  outside  and  inside  the  kiva,  but  will  have 
to  be  described  one  after  the  other,  although  they  are  coincidental. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  men  and  boys  who  have  gone 
after  corn-stalks  greet  the  racers  at  the  foot  of  the  mesa  and  follow 
them.  Having  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  mesa,  they  form  a  squad  and 
approach  the  village  (see  PI.  171),  being  accompanied  by  the  crowd  of 
spectators,  among  whom  may  be  seen  here  and  there  a  struggling 
racer,  who,  however,  runs  on  to  the  village.  In  front  of  the  village 
are  crowds  of  women,  girls,  and  children  (see  PI.  172),  who  await  the 
corn-stalk  bearers,  and  as  soon  as  the  latter  have  arrived  within  about 
one  hundred  yards,  dash  towards  them  and  engage  with  them  in  a 
pell-mell  wrangle  (see  PI.  173),  trying  to  snatch  from  them  the 
corn-stalks  and  also  squash  blossoms,  in  which  they  are  generally 
successful  after  a  short  struggle.  If  here  and  there  a  specially 
strong  or  alert  young  man  shows  a  tendency  to  be  obstinate,  he 
is  quickly  pursued  and  surrounded  by  such  numbers  that  his  sur- 
render is  usually  only  a  question  of  a  few  minutes.  The  captured  corn- 
stalks are  triumphantly  carried  by  the  winners  to  their  homes  (see  PI. 
174),  where  they  are  often  placed  on  corn  piled  up  in  the  back  rooms. 
But  proceed  we  now  to  the  Antelope  kiva,  where  in  the  mean  while 
important  events  have  been  in  progress.  We  first  turn  our  attention 
to  the  winner  of  the  race.  Upon  his  arrival  at  the  kiva  he  takes  a 
position  outside  and  east  of  the  kfva.  As  soon  as  his  presence  is 
announced  by  himself,  .by  stamping  repeatedly  with  his  foot,  the 
sprinkler  comes  out  and  takes  from  him  the  objects  he  has  won,  first 
sprinkling  a  little  meal  on  them  and  towards  the  kiva,  and  takes  them 
into  the  kiva,  where  he  hands  them  to  Tobengotiwa.  He  then  takes 
one  of  the  bahos  that  have  been  lying  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
altar  and  kneels  before  the  Antelope  priest  who,  still  holding  the 
'  objects  won  by  the  racer,  utters  in  a  low  voice  a  prayer,  whereupon 
the  Snake  chief  takes  the  objects,  also  utters  a  prayer,  and  then  hands 
them  back  to  the  sprinkler,  who  takes  them  out  and  hands  them  to  the 
winner  with  a  double  green  bdho,  a  small  sack  of  corn-meal,  and  dig- 
ging stipk,  (See  PI.  175.)  He  first  seems  to  express  a  prayer  or  good 
wish,  arxd  then  gives  some  instructions  to  the  boy,  who  thereupon  goes 
down  to  the  valley  to  one  of  his  fields,  where  he  digs  a  hole  with  the  dig- 
ging stick,  as  deep  as  the  length  of  his  arm,  into  which  he  throws  a  few 


PL.  CLXX. 
Corn-stalk  bearer  looking  for  the  racers. 


LIBRWY 

umvERSiTYofiamois 


PL.  CLXXI. 

Corn-stalk  bearers  approaching  the  village. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXXI. 


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PL.  CLXXII. 
Villagers  awaiting  the  corn-stalk  bearers. 


UH.VEHsfTVonamO.S 


wttjd  alynKiV/ 


PL.  CLXXIII. 
Wrangle  between  the  corn-stalk  bearers  and  the  villagers. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXXIII. 


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HFjiJfepJw^'Ailipi' 


PL.  CLXXIV.   Wrangling  for  the  Corn-stalks. 
In  the  foreground  one  of  the  women  is  seen  carrying  her  trophy  homeward. 


o  » 


LIBRARY 
UNlVERSlTY^onLLlNOJS 


PL.  CLXXV.   The  Race  Winner  at  the  Ki'va. 
The  asperger  is  in  the  act  of  handing  the  prizes,  which  have  been  consecrated 
in  the  kiva,  and  the  prayer-offerings  to  the  race  winner. 


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LIBRARY 

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FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXXVI. 


PL.  CLXXVI. 

Warriors  swinging  the  bull-roarer  at  the  kiva. 


.hvijl  odi 


Nov.,  1903.       Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  327 

pinches  of  sacred  meal,  pours  the  water  from  the  mongwikuru,  and 
then  puts  in,  in  an  upright  position,  the  long  chochokpi  with  the  wheel 
and  cylinder,  after  which  he  fills  up  the  hole,  leaving  the  upper  end  of 
the  chochokpi  protruding  slightly.  The  green  baho  he  thrusts  into 
the  ground  close  by.  These  offerings  are  considered  a  special  blessing 
to  the  field  and  augur  a  good  crop  not  only  at  the  approaching 
harvest,  but  also  in  coming  years.  The  empty  gourd  vessel  he  returns 
to  the  kfva. 

We  next  direct  our  attention  to  the  two  warriors  whom  we  noticed 
among  the  first  to  arrive  on  top  of  the  mesa.  Arriving  at  the  Ante- 
lope kiva  they  go  around  the  kfva  four  times,  twirling  the  buUroarers 
and  then  enter  the  kfva.  (See  PI.  176.)  In  the  kfva  they  go  through 
the  following  performance,  first  the  one  and  then  the  other:  Standing 
east  of  the  fireplace  they  shoot  the  lightning  frame  towards  the  hatch- 
way four  times,  and  then  twirl  the  bullroarer  an  equal  number  of 
times,  whereupon  they  seat  themselves  on  previously  arranged  seats,' 
one  east,  the  other  west  of  the  ladder,  close  to  the  klva  wall  on  the 
elevated  portion  of  the  kfva,  guarding,  as  it  were,  the  entrance.  Upon 
their  being  seated'  each  one  is  handed  a  cigarette  by  Tobengotiwa, 
which  he  smokes  in  silence,  and  then  remains  on  that  seat  throughout 
the  ceremony. 

While  these  performances  are  going  on  the  singing  ceremony  has 
been  in  progress.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  everything  was 
placed  in  readiness  while  the  racers  were  on  their  way  out,  even  to  the 
taking  out  of  the  crooks  and  the  handing  of  the  tfponi,  snake,  and 
batfti  to  the  Antelope  youth  and  maid,  and  that  upon  the  arrival  at 
the  kfva  of  the  signal  from  the  valley  that  the  race  had  started,  the 
first  song  is  intoned  and  the  progress  of  the  ceremony  is  not  inter- 
rupted  even  by  the  consecration  of  the  race-winner's  objects,  the 
arrival  of  participants  in  the  race,  etc.  Every  racer,  as  soon  as  he 
enters  the  kfva,  first  sprinkles  a  pinch  of  meal  to  the  altar,  and  then 
assumes  his  usual  seat. 

The  Snake  priests  are  on  this  morning  arrayed  in  their  usual  cos- 
tume and  decoration,  with  perhaps  a  heavier  coat  of  ciita  on  their 
faces.  More  netted  gourd  vessels  are  brought  into  the  Antelope  kiva 
this  morning;  on  one  occasion  I  noticed  eight  standing  in  a  row  on 
the  east  side  of  the  altar,  but  more  were  brought  in  during  the  day. 
Their  use  will  be  explained  in  connection  with  the  public  performances 
in  the  afternoon. 

'  The  seats  consisted  of  a  heavy  stone  used  to  fasten  weaving  looms  to.  of  which  a  number 
may  usually  be  found  in  every  kiva,  and  some  pelts  and  blankets  spread  on  them.  This  is,  as  far  as  I 
can  remember,  the  only  instance  where  these  stones  were  specially  used  for  seats  in  a  ceremony 
blankets  and  pehs  only  being  generally  used.  ' 


328      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropoujgy,  Vol.  III. 

As  soon  as  the  singing  ceremony  is  concluded  and  the  Snakes 
have  filed  out  in  the  usual  way,  one  of  the  warriors  takes  a  position 
near  the  south-east  corner  of  the  altar  and  shoots  the  lightning  frame 
four  times  towards  the  hatchway,  which  he  follows  by  swinging  the 
buUroarer  four  times.  The  other  warrior  repeats  the  same  action,  all 
the  Antelopes  in  the  mean  while  waiting  in  silence.  Before  the  war- 
riors leave  the  klva  they  stop  at  the  foot  of  the  latter  and  say,  one 
after  the  other,  "Ita  ctikaokahkan'g  pio  tapkiwicni"  (We,  being 
strengthened,  again  go  forth  towards  the  evening).  Outside  they  first 
shoot  the  lightning  frames  four  times  towards  the  sun,  then  they  go 
around  the  kiva  four  times,  shooting  the  lightning  frame  and  twirling 
the  bullroarer,  once  at  each  end  and  on  each  side  of  the  kfva.^  They 
then  proceed  to  the  Snake  klva  twirling  the  bullroarer  on  the  way. 
At  the  Snake  klva  they  repeat  the  same  performance  that  took  place 
at  the  Antelope  klva,  only  here  first  outside  and  then  inside  of  the 
klva.  When  they  have  finished,  they  lay  their  instruments  on  a  tray, 
near  the  altar,  which  is  then  placed  near  the  fireplace.  All  present 
assemble  around  it  and  smoke  over  it,  following  the  smoke  by  a  prayer 
from  each  one,  even  the  smaller  boys  (which  is  something  unusual) 
and  another  smoke,  for  which  all  pipes  that  can  be  found  are  used. 
This  smoke  is  followed  by  the  usual  morning  meal  in  which  all 
participate. 

After  breakfast  the  men  engage  in  different  pursuits;  some  repair 
their  snake  costumes,  moccasins,  etc.,  others  make  prayer  offerings, 
smoke,  sleep,  etc.  As  a  knowledge  of  the  manufacturing  of  bahos  on 
this  occasion,  their  kind  and  how  they  were  disposed  of  may  be  of 
importance  in  further  studies  of  this  ceremony,  and  as  the  observa- 
tions thus  far  made  on  this  subject  are  somewhat  incomplete,  those 
that  have  been  made  will  be  given  in  detail.  In  1896  the  following 
prayer  offerings  were  made,  as  far  as  recorded :  Macangontiwa  made 
one  peculiar  double  baho,  which  he  painted  light  blue  and  which,  on 
account  of  its  color,  was  very  unusual.  It  was  about  six  inches  long 
and  otherwise  made  the  same  as  any  other  common  bahos,  only  it 
had  a  long  string  (pflhu)  attached  to  it.  Besides  this,  he  made  three 
or  four  double  bdhos,  one  stick  being  black,  one  green.  These  bahos 
with  sticks  of  two  different  colors  are  called  naalong-bahos  and  are 
made,  as  far  as  I  know,  by  the  Snake  and  Antelope  Fraternities  only. 
He  also  prepared  four  piitsvahos  which  have  already  been  described. 

Nuvakwahu  made  three  naalong-bahos,  the  same  kind  as  Macan- 
gontiwa had  made. 

Puhtinomtiwa  made  seven  warrior  bahos,  which,  it  will  be  remem- 

'■  These  acts  symbolize  lightning  and  thunder. 


Nov  ,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  329 

bered,  consist  of  a  single,  undecorticated  stick,  painted  red  with 
pulverized  specular  iron  sprinkled  over  it,  and  having  a  bald  eagle 
wing  feather  tied  to  its  upper  end  and  a  breath  feather  suspended 
from  it,  and  a  corn-husk  packet  fastened  to  the  stick  with  the  feathers. 
The  stick  is  slightly  pointed  at  one  end.  The  wing  feather  is  from 
five  to  seven  inches  long.  They  were  also  sprinkled  with  the  specular 
iron  (yalahai-i).  When  he  had  finished  the  bahos  he  spurted  some 
honey  and  smoked  on  them  and  then  placed  them  on  a  tray.  Later 
he  thrust  them  behind  the  bead  strands  of  P6okong,  and  I  understood 
that  some  of  them  were  offered  to  the  different  shrines  along  the  race 
trail  by  the  two  warriors  the  next  morning. 

Besides  these  bdhos  a  number  of  nakwakwosis  were  made  by  or 
for  all  participants,  those  for  the  younger  members  being  made  by  the 
older  men.  As  nearly  as  I  could  ascertain,  six  nakwdkwosis  were 
supposed  to  be  made  by  each  man. 

In  1900  the  following  prayer  offerings  were  made  as  far  as  recorded : 

Pahtinomtiwa,  who  it  will  be  remembered,  was  acting  as  chief 
priest,  made  the  following:  One  double,  light  blue  baho  about  six 
inches  long  with  a  long  "road"  attached  to  it;  five  naalong-bahos 
about  five  inches  long,  of  the  usual  kind ;  and  three  chochdkpis  about 
four  and  a  half  inches  long. 

Q6tcvoyaoma  made  seven  naalong-bdhos  about  six  inches  long 
and  four  chochokpis  somewhat  shorter. 

Sikahongniwa  made  one  nadlong-bdho  and  one  chochdkpi,  both 
of  the  usual  length. 

All  made  a  number  of  nakwakwosis;  the  exact  number  made  by 
each  man,  however,  was  not  ascertained,  as  some  seemed  to  make  some 
for  themselves  and  some  for  others,  for  instance,  the  younger  mem- 
bers; but  as  nearly  as  I  could  learn  most  of  them  made  six  nakwdkosis.' 

A  number  (seven)  warrior  bdhos  were  also  made  by  Taldswahtiwa 
and  Sihohya. 

Some  time  in  the  forenoon  several  of  the  younger  members  are 
sent^after  cottonwood  branches  for  the  snake  booth.  In  1896  Sikaveima, 
Talaswahtiwa,  Sihohya,  and  H6veima  were  sent;  in  1900  Sihohya, 
Hoveima,  and  Macahongniwa.  They  put  on  the  common  ceremonial 
kilt,  moccasins,  take  with  them  the  snake  bag,  a  few  nakwakwosis, 
corn-meal,  and  hatchets  (to  cut  off)  and  straps  (to  carry)  the  branches. 

•  Considerable  lack  of  regularity  seems  to  exist  with  regard  to  the  number  of  prayer  offerings 
made  in  Hopi  ceremonies.  While  it  is  true  that  certain  bahos  and  nakwakwosis,  especially  those 
made  by  the  leading  priests  and  on  special  occasions,  are  made  and  disposed  of  in  the  same  manner 
in  every  reoccurring  ceremony,  a  good  deal  of  scope  is  left  to  the  personal  inclination  and  wishes  of 
the  maker  on  other  occasions.  While  preparing  his  prayer  offerings  the  maker  happens  to  think 
about  a  special  deity  or  "patron  saint,  or  a  feather  that  he  happens  to  have  left  sets  him  to  thinking 
about  one,  and  he  makes  an  extra  offering.    This  is  true  of  bahos,  but  more  so  of  nakwakwosis. 


330      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

(See  A,  PI.  177.)  They  return  at  about  noon.  Occasionally  they 
bring  a  snake  with  them..^ 

Other  preparations  for  future  events  are  being  made  in  the  Snake 
kfva.  The  two  warriors  repaint  their  lightning  frames,  one-half  with 
ctita,  a  red  mineral  paint;  the  other  half  with  sdkwa,  a  green  mineral 
paint;  both  said  to  be  usually  obtained  from  the  Kohonlnos.  They 
also  renew  the  small  feathers  on  the  edge  of  the  lightning  frames. 
The  chief  priest  hunts  up  an  old  plank  to  be  placed  in  front  of  the  klsi 
(booth)  on  the  plaza,  as  will  be  more  fully  described  presently. 

Soon  after  the  noon  meal  several  of  the  younger  Snake  members 
are  sent  to  the  plaza  to  erect  the  snake  booth.  Usually  the  ones  who 
got  the  branches  do  this  work.  They  first  make  four  holes  in  a 
square,  using  hatchets,  sticks,  and  shfpvikas.  (See  A,  PI.  178.)  Into 
these  holes  they  put  the  larger  branches — about  four  inches  thick — 
and  between  them  they  thrust  the  smaller  branches  into  the  ground, 
filling  up  the  spaces  between  these  with  a  tall  grass.  The  east  side  is 
closed  up  with  an  old  white  bridal  blanket  (owa).  The  booth,  when 
finished,  measures  from  three  to  four  feet  in  diameter,  the  size  varying 
somewhat  in  the  different  years,  and  is  usually  neither  quite  square 
nor  quite  round.  (See  B,  PI.  178.)  At  about  this  time  a  bunch  of  green 
melon,  bean,  cotton,  and  other  vines  and  a  young  corn-stalk  is  brought 
into  the  Snake  kfva  and  placed  first  behind  the  altar,  later  in  front  of 
the  fireplace,  to  be  used  in  the  public  performance  of  this  day. 

When  the  booth  is  completed  the  chief  Snake  priest  requests  the 
men  to  assemble  around  the  fireplace  for  a  smoke;  first,  however,  he 
makes  a  nakwdkwosi,  which,  I  think,  he  places  on  the  floor  near  the 
fireplace.  All  smoke,  several  pipes  being  used.  After  the  smoke, 
the  chief  priest  takes  a  baho,  some  sacred  meal,  and  I  think  the  afore- 
mentioned nakwdkwosi,  and  proceeds  to  the  plaza.  Here  he  cleans 
out  an  opening  in  the  ground  (in  front  of  the  booth),  which  is  about 
eight  or  ten  inches  square.  Into  this  opening  he  places  the  prayer 
offerings  (see  A,  PI.  179)  and  corn-meal,  saying  the  following  prayer: 
"Tad  it  yet  nu  umdngam  yiiku.  Owi  Uma  it  akw  mongwacyani ! 
Mongwacyakahkang  pas  pai  itamui  okwatotwani.  Pas  pai  lima 
okwatotwani,  piiu  okiw  yokwani. "  (Now  this  here  I  have  made  for  you. 
Therefore,  you  must  depend  on — subsist  on — this.  Depending  on 
this,  you  must  pity  us.  You  must  pity  us  now  and  bring  us  rain.) 
Hereupon  he  covers  it  up  with  an  old  plank  about  ten   inches  wide, 

'  In  1896  Maci'ingontiwa  took  a  bowl  at  about  this  time,  rinsed  it  out,  put  several  pieces  of  root 
into  it,  which  he  selected  from  his  bags,  and  took  the  bowl  out.  Unfortunately  I  could  not  follow 
him  at  that  time,  but  am  inclined  to  believe  that  he  prepared  some  medicine  for  some  one  supposed 
to  have  been  affected  by  the  snake  charm.  Such  patients,  if  members  of  the  Snake  Fraternity,  are 
sometimes  brought  into  the  Snake  kiva  and  thus  treated.     (See  B,  PI.  177.) 


PL.  CLXXVII. 

A.  One  of  the  Snake  priests  leaving  the  kiva  to  get  Cottonwood  branches  for 
the  snake  booth.  In  his  left  hand  he  carries  a  snake  bag  and  snake  whip,  in  the 
blanket  a  hatchet  to  chop  off  the  branches  and  a  rope  to  tie  them  up  and  carry 
them  with. 

B.  A  Snake  priest  taking  into  the  kiva  a  child  who  is  supposed  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  the  snake  charm— in  this  case  a  swelling  of  and  pain  in  the  ab- 
domen—and who  is  to  be  discharmed  in  the  kiva,  which  is  effected  by  rubbing  and 
sucking  the  child  on  the  part  of  the  priests. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.  CLXXVII. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


>-02  ad] 


Pl.  CLXXVIII.    Building  the  Snake  Booth. 

A.  Digging  the  holes  for  the  larger  sticks.  The  implements  that  are  used 
for  digging  are  the  ship-wikas  that  are  used  on  the  snake  hunts. 

B.  The  booth  finished.  Attention  is  drawn  to  the  kilt  of  the  first  boy.  It  is 
the  so-called  soqom-vitkuna  (black  kilt),  which  is  the  first  ceremonial  kilt  worn 
by  small  boys. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.  CLXXVIII. 

A 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


Pl.  CLXXIX.    The  Dance  Plaza  and  a  Shrine. 

A.  The  chief  Snake  priest  cleaning  out  the  opening  on  the  plaza  over  which 
he  places  the  plank  on  which  the  dancers  stamp  with  their  right  foot.  Before 
putting  the  plank  on  he  deposits  a  Mho  into  the  opening. 

B.  One  of  the  katcina  shrines  in  which  prayer-offerings  and  other  objects  of 
various  kinds  are  deposited. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.    CLXXIX. 

A 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


Nov.,  1903.       Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  331 

and  about  three  feet  long.  He  then  returns  to  the  kfva,  where  he 
again  smokes.  In  1896  he  then  made  some  nakwdkwosis,  which  he 
handed  to  one  of  the  young  men,  who  took  them  out — for  what  pur- 
pose I  did  not  learn — but  returned  in  a  few  minutes.  He  had  put  on 
his  snake  kilt  for  this  errand.  Soon  after  the  Snake  chief  proceeds 
to  the  Antelope  kfva  for  the  mutual  smoke  with  the  Antelope  priest. 
The  other  Snake  priests  prepare  for  the  approaching  public  ceremony, 
putting  on  their  common  kilts,  their  moccasins,  renewing  their  usual 
body  decorations,  combing  their  hair,  etc.     As  soon  as  the  two  chiefs 

<  are  done  smoking  another  messenger  is  sent  after  water  for  the  race 
on  the  following  morning,  this  time,  however,  a  member  of  the  Snake 
Fraternity.  He  takes  with  him  the  same  objects  as  the  messenger  on 
the  previous  day,  but  instead  of  the  double  green  bahos  from  the 
Antelope  chief  he  takes  with  him  some  nadlong-bahos  from  the  Snake 
chief,  and  instead  of  going  to  either  Tlihciva  or  Torfva  he  goes  along 
another  trail  to  either  Topdshkwava  or  Matdva,  generally,  however, 
to  the  first  named.  He  deposits  his  prayer  offerings  in  the  same 
manner  and  at  as  many  places  as  the  Antelope  man  did.  The  trail 
which  he  takes  is  somewhat  west  of  the  other  one  and  is  the  same  on 
which  the  race  takes  place  the  next  morning. 

Having  thus  recorded  the  proceedings  of  the  Snake  kfva,  and 
seen  the  Snake  messenger  depart  to  the  distant  spring  for  water,  we 
again  turn  to  the  Antelope  kfva  to  record  the  events  of  the  day  from 
the  time  when  we  left  the  kfva  with  the  two  warriors  in  the  morning, 
leaving  the  Antelopes  silently  awaiting  the  departure  of  the  latter.  As 
soon  as  the  warriors  have  left  the  kfva,  the  Antelopes  also  leave  their 
places,  the  Antelope  youth  and  maid  disrobe,  and  wash  off  their  paint 
as  usual.  After  some  smoking  is  indulged  in  and  some  have  begun  to 
make  preparations  for  making  prayer  offerings,  the  usual  morning 
meal  is  brought  into  the  kfva,  and  all  eat  again,  however  avoiding 
salted  food  and  meats.  After  breakfast  a  great  number  of  prayer 
offerings  are  made.  As  already  indicated,  it  is  extremely  diiificult 
to  ascertain  just  what  and  how  many  bdhos  and  nakwakwosis  are  sup- 
posed to  be  made  during  a  ceremony  by  each  participant.  In  ^me 
cases  rules  are  observed,  especially  by  the  leading  priests.  As  a 
general  thing  a  great  deal  of  irregularity  exists  and  a  certain  amount 
of  freedom  seems  to  be  left  to  the  inclination  of  the  individual  priest 

.  — within  certain  limits,  of  course.  As  I  have  been  obliged  to  make 
these  observations  alone  and  two  kfvas  had  to  be  watched,  and  in  each 
kfva  different  priests,  it  has  been  impossible  to  settle  this  point. 
In  order  to  aid  further  studies  of  this  matter,  the  facts  pertaining  to 
it,  as  recorded  in  the  different  years,  are  given  separately. 


332      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

In  1896,  the  chief  priest,  Tob^ngotiwa,  made  eight  green  bdhos 
with  black  tips,  and  one  set  of  four  and  one  of  five  chochokpis, 
besides  a  number  of  nakwakwosis.  Eight  of  the  latter  were  turkey 
feathers  with  red  strings  and  two  roads  with  yellow  strings  (rolled  in 
honey  and  corn-pollen).  The  twine,  wound  around  the  upper  end  of 
the  chochokpis  had  been  colored  in  rings  alternately  red  and  black, 
the  usual  colors  being  black  and  white.  He  then  placed  four  green 
bahos  and  five  chochokpis  and  one  road  on  one  pile,  the  other  four 
bahos,  four  chochokpis,  and  one  road  on  another  pile. 

Yukioma,  who  it  will  be  remembered,  was  initiated  on  this  occa- 
sion, made  one  green  baho,  one  chochokpi,  and  twelve  nakwakwosis; 
the  strings  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  those  of  the  feathers  attached  to 
the  bahos,  were  stained  red  and  the  twine  on  the  chochokpis  he 
colored  in  the  same  manner  as  Tobengotiwa  had  colored  his. 

Sihongniwa,  the  pipelighter,  made  eight  bahos  of  the  usual  kind, 
Mokahtiwa  six,  and  Tob^vohyoma  also  six,  all  three  also  staining  the 
strings  of  the  feathers  attached  to  the  baho  sticks  red.  All  the  other 
men  made  only  nakwakwosis,  but  just  how  many  my  notes  fail  to 
state,  also  how  these  prayer  offerings  were  disposed  of,  but  I  am  told 
they  are  deposited  the  next  day  in  the  field,  peach  orchards,  etc. 

In  1898  no  special  record  could  be  made  of  this  baho-making,  as 
the  filling  up  of  other  gaps  in  my  notes  occupied  my  time. 

In  1900  I  noted  down  the  following:  Tobengotiwa  made  three  sets 
of  four  green  bahos  (with  black  tips)  each,  all  about  five  inches  long; 
one  set  of  five  and  one  of  four  chochokpis,  about  six  inches  long.  All 
the  strings  on  the  nakwakwosis,  which  were  attached  to  the  bahos, 
were  painted  red,  and  the  twine  on  the  chochokpis  colored  as  described 
above.  The  number  of  nakwakwosis  made  was  not  recorded.  He 
was  assisted  in  the  work  by  his  son  Honwahtiwa. 

Cakvyamtiwa  made  one  green  baho,  one  chochokpi,  and  a  number 
of  nakwakwosis.  Sihongwa  and  Honwahtiwa  made  the  same. 
Sikaheptiwa,  the  sprinkler,  made  two  green  bahos,  two  chochokpis, 
one  long  chochokpi  ^bout  fourteen  inches  long,  one  cylinder  two  and 
thr^e-quarters  inches' long  by.  one-half  an  inch  thick,  and  a  yoiyngola 
(rain  wheel)  about  four  inches  in  diameter.  Into  two  sides  of  the 
latter  were  inserted  four  duck  feathers  and  from  one  side  was  sus- 
pended an  eagle  nakwakwosi. 

The  nakwakwosis  on  all  the  bahos,  as  far  as  I  could  ascertain, 
were  duck  feathers. 

If  any  more  bahos  were  made,  it  escaped  my  notice.'     A  number 

'  I  am  told  that  every  participant  makes  at  least  one  baho  and  one  chochokpi.  The  long 
chochokpi,  with  the  wheel  made  by  the  sprinkler,  Sikaheptiwa,  was  taken  to  the  spring  in  the  evening 
and  secured  by  the  race  wmner  the  next  morning. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  333 

of  nakwakwosis  were  made  by  each  priest,  usually  either  six  or  eight, 
although'  that  number  was  by  no  means  strictly  adhered  to. 

While  these  prayer  offerings  are  made,  other  work  is  attended  to. 
Dance  costumes  are  put  in  order,  moccasins  repaired,  etc.  Now  and 
then  singing  is  practiced,  and  smoking  is  not  overlooked.  On  one 
occasion,  I  noticed  that  one  of  the  priests  made  a  feather  head-dress 
(nakwa)  for  a  novice,  the  head-dress  consisting  of  sixteen  small  eagle 
feathers,  two  and  two  of  which  were  tied  together  at  their  quill  ends 
and  to  the  tips  of  which  were  fastened  bluebird  wing  and  tail  feathers, 
also  two  and  two  being  tied  together.  The  eagle  feathers  were 
stained  red  and  were  fastened  to  a  piece  of  buckskin.  Every  Ante- 
lope and  Snake  wears  such  a  nakwa  on  his  head  in  the  public  per- 
formance. 

At  about  noon  on  this  day  all  the  Antelopes  take  off  the  small 
feather  which  they  have  thus  far  worn  in  their  hair  (and  which  is  also 
called  nakwa)  and  string  them  on  a  stick,  which  is  laid  on  the  floor 
near  the  fireplace.  The  owners,  so  I  tvas  told,  deposit  those  nakwas 
at  different  places — fields,  melon  patches,  etc.,  outside  of  the  village.^ 
Some  one  brings  in  a  few  cottonwood  branches  for  the  public  per- 
formance. 

At  about  half-past  four  o'clock  the  men  begin  to  get  ready  for 
the  performance  on  the  plaza.  Their  body  decoration  is  as  follows: 
The  feet,  hands,  and  chin  are  painted  black;  and  in  the  case  of  the 
sprinkler,  a  white  line  runs  from  ear  to  ear  over  the  upper  lip. 

Their  costume  consists  of  the  embroidered  kilt  and  sash,  a  fox- 
skin,  which  is  suspended  from  the  sash  behind,  a  bandoleer  of  dark 
blue  yarn  over  the  right  shoulder,  a  strand  of  the  same  yarn  around 
the  legs  below  the  knee,  decorated  ankle  bands,  and  several  strands 
of  beads  around  the  neck  from  which  is  suspended  in  front  an  abelone 
shell.  On  the  head  they  wear  in  front  a  single  white  eagle  feather 
and  on  the  apex  of  the  head  the  large  nakwa,  already  described.^ 

In  their  hands  they  hold  the  following  objects:  The  chief  priest, 
who  takes  the  lead,  holds  in  his  left  hand  the  tfponi  that  had  been 
used  in  the  different  morning  and  evening  ceremonies  a  gourd  Vessel 
and  a  bag  with  corn-meal;  in  his  right  hand  he  holds  a  rattle.'  He  is 
followed  by  the  sprinkler,   who  carries  the   medicine   bowl   and   the 

'  In  the  Powaniu  ceremony  these  nilkwas  are  deposited  m  one  of  the  Katcfna  shrines  close  to 
the  village.  (See  B,  PI.  179.)  The  Snake  ndkwas  are  said  to  be  deposited  at  almost  any  place  near  the 
village;  the  same  is  true  of  the  ntlkwas  used  in  the  Flute  ceremony. 

'  The  sprinkler  wears  around  his  head  a  wreath  made  of  small  cottonwood. 

'This  rattle  is  supposed  to  be  made  of  a  wooden  ring,  over  which  is  stretched  an  antelope 
scrotum  skin.  This  is  gathered  on  the  lower  side  around  a  short  stick,  about  three  inches  long,  to 
which  it  is  wound  by  means  of  a  thong.    The  rattle,  I  believe,  contains  shelled  corn. 


334      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

aspergill.  All  the  rest  have  in  their  right  hand  a  rattle,  in  their  left  a 
bag  with  sacred  meal  and  a  netted  gourd  vessel,  and  one  of  the 
straight  sticks  from  the  altar.      (See  PI.  i8o.) 

We  now  again  turn  our  attention  to  the  Snake  kiva,  where  we  left 
the  men  as  they  were  beginning  to  get  ready  for  the  public  performance 
on  the  plaza.  Their  body  decoration  was  as  follows:  The  face,  arms, 
chest,  back,  a  band  above  the  knee  and  lower  legs  were  daubed  with 
soot.  Spots  were  then  made  with  a  mixture  of  a  red  ochre  (ctita)  and 
common  clay  (this  mixture  being  called  "palatcka"  red  clay),  on  the 
following  places  of  the  body:  The  forehead,  chest,  back,  outside  of 
upper  and  lower  arm  (near  the  elbow),  outside  of  upper  and  lower  leg 
(near  the  knee),  both  hands  and  the  top  of  the  head.  Concerning  these 
spots,  which  have  been  repeatedly  mentioned  through  the  paper,  T  am 
told  that  in  former  days,  when  the  Hopis  were  still  occasionally  at  war 
with  other  tribes,  the  warriors  who  were  to  leave  the  village  to  meet 
the  enemy,  would  assemble  by  clan  groups  north  of  the  village.  Here 
one  of  the  older  members  of  the  Kokop  (Burrowing  Owl)  clan  pre- 
pared a  clay  or  paste  of  pulverized  Pookongnayoo'  (P6ok6ng-vomisis) 
and  water.  The  water  was  taken  from  a  medicine  bowl  which  also 
contained  fetishes  of  stone,  shell,  and  bone.  As  the  men,  clan  after 
clan,  filed  by  him,  he  would  put  just  such  marks  on  their  bodies  as  the 
Snakes  put  on  to  this  day,  in  memory  of  those  occasions.  These 
marks  are  called  "huriitcakaci"  (strong  or  hard  body  painting), 
because  they  were  said  to  make  the  flesh  of  the  warrior  tough  and 
proof  against  the  arrows  of  the  enemy. ^  Having  finished  their  body 
decoration,  the  Snakes  put  on  their  common  kilts  and  their  moccasins, 
pick  up  their  snake  whips  and  bags  with  sacred  meal  and  wait  for  a 
signal  from  the  Antelope  klva  that  all  is  ready  for  the  mutual  perform- 
ance. The  Antelopes  come  out  from  the  klva  first.  Lining  up  north 
of  the  kiva,  they  stop  for  a  few  minutes,  shaking  their  rattles,  and 
then  proceed  to  the  plaza,  which  is  only  seventy-five  feet  away.  Here 
they  go  around  in  a  circle  from  right  to  left  in  front  of  the  booth  four 
times  (see  PI.  i8i),  passing  over  the  before-mentioned  opening, 
sprinkling  a  pinch  of  sacred  meal  on  the  plank,  and  vigorously  stamp- 
ing their  right  foot  on  it  as  they  do  so.      Hereupon  they  line  up  in 

'  Pdokong  is  the  God  of  War  and  of  protection  in  general.  This  stone  is  called  Pookongnagoo, 
because,  the  Hopi  say,  Pookong  "vomits  it  up,"  and  it  often  resembles  in  the  natural  state  and  in 
larger  quantities  a  petrified  semi-liquid  mass.  A  sample  of  this  stone,  which  is  also  .<sed  by  Hopi 
doctors  as  a  medicine,  may  be  seen  in  the  Hopi  collections  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum. 

'At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  ceremony  in  the  SoyAl  celebration  in  Or&ibi,  one  of  the  leaders 
makes  a  mark  on  the  chest  and  back  of  every  participant,  using  a  clay  that  has  been  prepared  with 
the  water  from  the  warrior's  medicine  bowl,  and  finally  the  men  take  a  pinch  of  that  clay,  fill  their 
mouths  with  water,  and  proceed  to  their  homes,  where  they  make  similar  marks  on  the  bodies  of  the 
members  of  their  families.    (See  The  Ordibi-SoyAl  Ceremony,  by  G.  \.  Dorsey  and  H.  R.  Voth, 

p.  25-) 


<XXJO  -IS 


^qohuiA  jti 


PL.  CLXXX. 

The  Antelope  priests  emerging  from  their  kiva  to  go  to  the  plaza  on  the 
eighth  day  for  the  public  performance. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN  MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   OLXXX. 


Photo  by  G.  Wharton  James. 


LIBP>aRY 
OF  THE  . 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


,  Pt 


ly  \^.   vi  .ifl  r;  ■ 


PL.  CLXXXI. 

Tlie  Antelope  priests  going  around  in  a  circle  in  front  of  the  booth  on  the 
eighth  day. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CLXXXI. 


Photo  by  G.  Wharton  James. 


LIBRARY  J 

OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


LiuRARV 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS. 


PL.  CLXXXIII. 
The  Snakes  going  around  in  a  circle  in  front  of  the  booth  and  stamping  on 
the  plank  with  their  right  foot  (eighth  day). 


i 


HI^'faBl  l.tewHHiJ'»^Mi>ff8^f*wigCTH3ighr- 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS, 


PL.  CLXXXIV. 
The  Plate  shows  both  Fraternities  in  position  in  front  of  the  booth  on  the 
eighth  day.  They  are  in  the  act  of  singing,  the  Antelopes  waving  their  rattles, 
the  Snakes  their  whips,  to  the  time  of  the  singing.  In  front  of  the  Antelopes  may 
be  seen  the  tiponi,  medicine  bowl,  mongwikurus,  and  the  sticks  taken  from 
the  altar. 


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PL.  CLXXXV. 
The  Snake  dancers  in  the  act  of  making  certain  sideway  motions  with  their 
hands,  to  which  they  hum  a  song  in  a  low  tone  (eighth  day). 


li-jdi   t[}fw  P.(i 


I 


vafebecii'  iiirffirjMiiiiiini'i'VStwia 


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PL.  CLXXXVI. 
The  Plate  shows  the  stage  of  the  dance  when  the  Snake  priests  step  forward 
and  backward  and  the  vine  dancer  is  beginning  his  circuit,  the  Chief  Snake  priest 
just  about  to  lay  his  hand  on  his  back  and  toaccompany  him. 


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PL.  CLXXXVII. 
The  performance  of  the  vine  dancer  and  the  Snake  priest  (eighth  day). 


.(vr,b  dJffi-ioi  f3'ji".' 


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FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  CLXXXVIII. 

A 


PL.  CLXXXVIII. 

A.  Humming  with  lateral  motion  by  the  Snake  priests  (eighth  day). 

B.  Performance  of  the  vine  dancer  (eighth  day). 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  335 

front  of  the  booth,  still  shaking  their  rattles,  holding  them  upward, 
and  await  the  arrival  of  the  Snakes.  (See  A,  PI.  182.)  The  latter  now 
emerge  from  their  kiva,  proceed  to  the  plaza,  walk  around  four  times 
in  the  same  manner  as  did  the  Antelopes  (see  PI.  183),  and  then  draw 
up  in  line  about  six  feet  from  the  Antelopes,  the  two  platoons  facing 
each  other.  (See  B,  PI.  182.)  The  Antelope  chief  then  sprinkles  a  line 
of  corn-meal  about  eighteen  inches  in  front  of  the  Snakes  between  the 
two  platoons  of  men,  and  another  line  about  eighteen  inches  in  front  of 
the  Antelopes,  and  then  steps  back  to  his  place  at  the  extreme  south 
end  of  the  line  of  his  men.  The  Antelope  rattles  are  still  in 
motion,  the  sound  thus  produced  resembling  very  much  the  sound 
produced  by  the  tails  of  rattlesnakes.  Presently  the  Chief  Ante- 
lope priest  puts  on  the  meal  line  in  front  of  the  Antelopes,  the  tfponi, 
the  sprinkler,  the  medicine  bowl,  and  the  other  water  vessels  and 
sticks.  (See  PI.  184.)  While  this  is  done,  the  Snakes  lock  their  hands 
and  in  a  slightly  stooping  position  (see  PI.  185),  hum  a  song,  waving 
their  hands  in  which  they  hold  the  whips  sideways  to  the  time  of  their 
singing.  The  Antelopes  also  wave  their  rattles  from  side  to  side.  In 
a  few  minutes  the  Snakes  assume  an  erect  position  and  sing  the  same 
song,  but  much  louder,  accompanying  the  singing  with  vigorous  stamp- 
ing of  the  right  foot,  and  shaking  of  the  whips.  (See  PI.  202.)  The 
Antelopes  also  sing  and  rattle  louder.  These  two  kinds  of  perform- 
ances alternate  about  eight  times,  the  number  of  times  having  been 
found  to  vary  in  the  different  ceremonies.  Hereupon  all  make  a  short 
pause  and  then  begin  to  step  forward  and  backward,  the  Antelopes 
stepping  backward  when  the  Snakes  step  forward  and  vice  versa.  As 
soon  as  this  kind  of  backward  and  forward  dancing  begins  the 
sprinkler  steps  forward  (the  man  next  to  him  taking  the  medicine 
bowl),  and  then  moves  slowly  around  four  times  in  an  elongated 
circuit  between  the  two  platoons,  the  sprinkler  moving  his  arms  to  the 
time  of  the  singing  (see  PI.  186),  the  Snake  priest  follows  him,  hold- 
ing his  left  hand  on  the  sprinkler's  left  shoulder  and  stroking  with  his 
right  hand,  in  which  he  holds  his  snake  whip,  the  back  of  the  latter. 
After  the  fourth  time,  they  stoop  down  before  the  booth,  from  which 
the  sprinkler  takes  the  bunch  of  vines  which  we  saw  during  the  day  in 
the  Snake  klva.  This  bunch  of  vines  he  takes  between  his  teeth  near 
the  root  end,  and  grasping  it  with  his  hands,  he  again  steps  forward, 
describing  the  same  circuit  as  before,  and  being  followed  by  the 
Snake  priest  in  the  same  manner  as  before  (see  PI.  187  and  B,  188), 
waving  the  bunch  to  the  time  of  the  singing  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  snakes  are  held  and  moved  at  the  public  performance  the 
next   day.     When    the    circuit    has    been    described    four    times,    the 


336      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

sprinkler  drops  the  vines  on  the  ground,  proceeds  in  the  same  manner 
for  about  half  a  minute,  and  then  both  resume  their  positions  in  the 
lines  of  their  men.  One  of  the  Snake  men  picks  up  the  bunch  of  vines 
in  the  manner  in  which  at  the  Snake  dance  proper  the  snakes  are 
picked  up.  Hereupon  the  Snake  priests  again  make  the  circuit  four 
times  in  the  same  manner  as  when  they  arrived,  the  Antelopes  shaking 
their  rattles  while  they  do  so,  and  then  proceed  to  their  kfva.  As  soon 
as  they  have  disappeared,  the  Antelopes  leave  the  plaza  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Snakes;  i.e.,  first  going  through  the  same  performance. 

In  the  Snake  kiva  all  arrange  themselves  around  the  fireplace, 
north  of  which  is  lying  the  bunch  of  vines.  All  smoke,  using  every 
available  pipe,  and  then  each  one  utters  a  fervent  prayer.  The  bunch, 
I  am  told,  is  then  taken  to  the  field  by  any  one  in  the  klva. 

After  all  had  laid  off  their  ceremonial  costume,  supper  was  par- 
taken of  in  both  kivas,  after  which,  outside  of  the  usual  smoking, 
nothing  of  importance  was  observed  on  this  day.  The  fast  is  broken 
in  the  Antelope  kfva  this  evening,  the  men  being  allowed  to  eat  any- 
thing at  this  evening's  meal  and  also  the  next  day. 


NINTH  CEREMONIAL  DAY. 

(ti'kivee;   dance.) 

Practically  the  same  performances  are  repeated  in  both  kivas, 
beginning  at  the  same  early  hour  as  on  the  previous  day.  Only  the 
race  of  this  morning  is  called  the  Snake  race,  while  that  of  the  previ- 
ous morning  was  called  the  Antelope  race.  The  race  on  this  occasion 
starts  at  a  place  a  short  distance  south-east  from  the  one  from  which 
the  Antelope  race  started.  The  same  Snake  man  who  got  the  water 
from  the  spring  on  the  previous  evening  is  supposed  to  take  it  out  to 
the  starting-place  this  morning.  Again  neither  the  Antelope  nor  the 
Snake  men  participate  in  the  race  from  the  starting-place,  but  join 
the  racers  along  the  route.  Nor  are  they  contestants  for  the  prize. 
Bahos,  nakwakwosis,  and  meal  are  again  deposited  at  the  different 
shrines  along  the  route '  and  at  the  starting-place,  and  the  lightning 
frames  are  shot  and  the  bullroarers  twirled  at  intervals  along  the  route 
of  the  race.     (See  Pis.  189  and  190.) 

In  the  Antelope  kiva  the  members  of  both  Fraternities  who  do 
not  participate  in  one  capacity  or  another  in  the  race,  have  in  the 

'  Prayer  offerings  are  deposited  at  threfe  different  places  along  the  route  of  the  snake  race,  and 
also  at  the  starting-place.  Of  the  three  places  only  one  has  a  regular  name,  Kaotaktipu  (Place-of- 
Burnt  or  Charred  Corn),  because,  in  a  war,  N^vajos  burned  up  a  pile  of  husked  corn  at  that  place. 


PL.  CLXXXIX. 

Spectators  at  the  edge  of  the  mesa  watching  the  Racers  in  the  valley. 


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^^m 


PL.  cxc. 

Waiting  for  the  Racers  at  the  edge  of  the  mesa  (ninth  day). 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN   MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,  PL.   CXC. 


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/ 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CXCI. 


Photo  by  Oscar  Depew. 


PL.  CXCI. 
Snake  priests  arriving  at  the  Snake  kiva  from  the  Antelope  kiva. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  337 

mean  while  assembled  for  the  last  time.'  The  first  smoke  has  been 
had,  the  crooks  taken  out,  the  snake  and  tiponi  handed  to  the  Ante- 
lope youth,  the  pot  with  the  contents  to  the  Antelope  maid  and  all 
await  in  silence  the  signal  announcing  the  starting  of  the  race.  In 
1896  I  noticed  that  one  of  the  men  who  came  in  from  the  race  handed 
to  the  sprinkler  a  young  green  corn-ear  and  one  a  young  corn-stalk, 
both  of  which  he  placed  south  of  the  sand  mosaic.  The  Snake  men 
appear  in  partial  Snake  costume  and  Snake  decoration."  (See  PI.  191.) 
The  latter  varies  from  the  usual  body  decoration,  in  the  fact  that  the 
face  is  painted  deep  black  with  a  sprinkling  of  glittering  specular  iron 
over  it,  the  body  probably  daubed  a  shade  blacker  than  usual  and  the 
legs  below  the  knee  and  arms  below  the  elbow  daubed  pink  entirely 
instead  of  a  large  spot  on  the  outside  of  the  leg.  (Compare  Pis.  202 
and  206.)  The  costume  worn  by  the  warriors  consists  of  the  large 
tctl-nakwa,  already  described;  the  tc6-vitkuna  (snake  kilt)  ^  with  the 
symbol  of  a  snake  on  it;  the  wokokwava  (big  belt),  consisting  practi- 
cally of  a  piece  of  buckskin  cut  into  long  fringes;^  arm  bands,  made 
of  greeii  cedar  bark  or  sometimes  of  green  cedar  wood;  leg  bands, 
made  of  deer  leg  skin  with  the  hair  on,  worn  below  the  knee;  mocca- 
sin§,  with  fringed  ankle  bands;  a  foxskin  and  several  strands  of 
beads.  (See  PI.  176.)  The  race  this  morning  starts  at  a  •  place 
known  as  the  "Snake-Race-Place,"  about  half  a  mile  south-west  from 
the  place  where  the  Antelope  race  started  the  previous  morning. 
The  same  offerings  are  made  by  the  warriors  as  on  that  occasion,  and 
the  race — the  sprinkling  of  meal  as  the  racers  reach  the  top  of  the 
mesa,  the  performances  of  the  warriors  around  and  in  the  kivas,  the 
disposition  of  the  race  winner's  prizes,  the  singing  ceremony,  etc. — is, 
as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  an  exact  repetition  of  the  corresponding 
performances  of  the  previous  day.  It  was  noticed  in  1896  that  the 
Snake  novice  left  his  corn-ear  in  the  Antelope  kfva  with  the  newly 
brought  in  corn-stalk  south  of  the  altar. 

In  the  Antelope  klva  again  no  fasting  is  observed  on  this  day. 
On  one  occasion  I  noticed  that  Sihongwa  carried  out  a  small  amount 
of  food  in  a  bowl  to  a  place  near  the  Katcfna  shrine  west  of 
Oraibi. 

But  proceed  we  now  to  the  Snake  klva  and  first  record  again  the 

*  Much  smoking  is  being  done  in  the  Snake  kfva  early  in  the  morning.  On  one  occasion  I 
noticed  that  the  sputa  from  the  smokers  had  actually  run  along  the  floor  for  about  four  feet.  In  1S96 
the  snakes  were  also  transferred  from  the  jars  to  a  large  sack  early  in  the  morning.  In  this  bag  they 
were  transferred  to  the  booth  in  the  afternoon. 

'  To  the  lower  edge  of  these  formerly  fawn  hoops  were  tied,  of  which,  however,  only  a  few  are 
left  at  present. 

^  To  some  of  which — formerly  to  all,  probably— small  pieces  of  petrified  wood  about  two  and  a 
ihalf  inches  lonj;  and  a  quarter  to  one-half  inches  thick  are  fastened  as  rattles. 


338      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

events  of  the  day  as  they  transpired  in  that  chamber  up  to  the  time  of 
the  mutual  public  performance  in  the  afternoon. 

The  priests  having  arrived  in  their  klva  after  the  singing  cere- 
mony in  the  Antelope  klva  all,  except  the  two  warriors,  divest  them- 
selves of  their  costumes  and  arrange  themselves  around  the  fireplace 
and  engage  in  a  solemn  smoke,  which  is  followed  by  a  prayer  from 
each  one  present.^  While  the  prayers  by  the  different  participants 
have  a  good  deal  of  similarity,  they  are  not  quite  alike,  and  some  are 
longer  than  others.  The  lightning  frames  and  thunder  boards  are 
lying  near  the  fireplace.  After  this  ceremonial  smoke  another  smoke 
follows,  which  seems  to  be  of  a  less  solemn  nature,  and  during  which 
some  conversation  is  going  on.  This  being  concluded,  the  two  war- 
riors also  lay  off  their  paraphernalia.  At  about  this  time  Macangon- 
tiwa's  sister,  who  is  an  old  woman  and  is  also  called  Tcti  Mana  (Snake 
maid),  brings  several  pots  to  the  kiva,  which  she  places  on  the  outside 
at  the  south  side  of  the  hatchway.  These  she  fills  with  water  (see 
PI.  192),  in  which  she  is  assisted  by  several  women. 

The  Snakes  partake  of  no  food  or  water  on  this  day  until  the 
evening  meal  is  served,  after  the  public  performance. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  the  Chief  Snake  priest  makes  two  nakwdk- 
wosis,  staining  their  strings  red,  as  usual,  and  sends  one  of  the  men, 
belonging  to  the  Badger  clan,^  after  the  herbs  for  the  emetic.  I  had 
great  difficulty  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  these  herbs,  but  from  infor- 
mation obtained  from  and  substantiated  by  various  members  of  the 
Snake  Fraternity,  and  having  seen  the  herbs  in  the  pots  while  boiling, 
having  furthermore  picked  up  small  remnants  of  them  from  the  floor 
where  they  had  been  lying  prior  to  being  put  into  the  pots,  and  also 
having  obtained  a  bunch  of  the  boiled  herbs  after  it  had  been  thrown 
away  and  also  the  fresh  plants,  I  have  from  all  this  long  been  con- 
vinced that  the  two  principal  herbs  are  masi  (gray)  lachi  (not  to  be 
confounded  with  the  common  or  sakwa  [green]  lachi)  and  piwannga 
(weasel  medicine) — linum  rigidum,  Purch.  The  first  grows  abun- 
dantly around  Oraibi,  the  other  not,  especially  in  dry  years,  although  I 
have  seen  it  several  times.  Whether  hohoyaonga,  the  charm  medi- 
cine, used  throughout  the  ceremony  and  frequently  mentioned  in  this 
paper,  forms  an  ingredient  of  the  emetic  I  have  been  unable  to  settle 
definitely.^     From  the  information  obtained  from  different  sources,  I 

'  In  1896  two  small  boys  did  not  utter  a  prayer. 

'  A  man  of  that  clan  is  chosen,  it  is  said,  first,  because  the  badger  owns  the  herbs,  is  very  fond 
of  all  kinds  of  roots,  was  once  a  doctor,  and  is  now  prayed  to  by  the  sick,  his  fat  and  pudenda  being 
used  as  medicine— the  latter,  which  is  said  to  be  "very  hard,"  is  used  by  impotent  men— and 
secondly,  because  the  badger  "always  scratches  out  roots." 

^  Some  say  it  is  used,  some  claim  it  is  not. 


PL.  CXCII. 

A.  Women  filling  jars  with  water  at  the  Snake  ki'va. 

B.  The  Snake  kiva. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CXCII. 

A 


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FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   CXCIII. 

A 


\ 


PL.  CXCIII.    Scenes  in  the  Snake  K(va. 

A.  Repairing  parts  of  the  Snake  costume. 

B.  Resting. 


UNlVEHSlTr'"nLLINO;S 


\ 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   CXCIV. 


PL.  CXCIV. 
Snake  priests  washing  their  heads. 


(tfcVf*WS»*«^.^  P,*,«M»"^^ 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  339 

am  inclined  to  believe  that  if  any  is  used,  it  is  used  in  a  small  quan- 
tity, more  as  a  charm,  as  which  it  is  also  used  throughout  the  cere- 
mony, than  as  an  ingredient  to  produce  vomisis. 

The  men  have  in  the  mean  while  started  to  repair  their  moccasins, 
kilts,  head-dresses,  etc.  Some  smoke,  and  here  and  there  one  takes  a 
nap.  (See  PI.  193.)  All  seem  to  be  more  or  less  sleepy  after  having 
been  up  at  an  early  hour  on  this  and  the  preceding  mornings.  Even 
the  chief  priest  occasionally  wraps  himself  up  and  enjoys  a  brief  flight 
into  dreamland.  Almost  constantly  one  or  more  are  smoking. 
Towards  noon  all  go  out  one  after  the  other,  pour  some  of  the  water 
from  the  pots  south  of  the  kiva  into  bowls,  go  about  a  hundred  yards 
south  of  the  kiva  down  the  hill,  and  there  wash  their  heads  (see 
PI.  194),  after  having  converted  the  water  into  foaming  suds  with 
mashed  yucca  roots.  The  kiva  is  swept,  the  refuse  being  carried  out. 
At  about  half-past  eleven  o'clock  the  chief  priest  sprinkles  some  dry 
sand  on  the  space  between  the  fireplace  and  the  east  banquette,  cover- 
ing a  space  of  about  five  feet  square.  The  banquette  is  also  covered 
in  the  same  way  to  the  length  of  about  five  feet.  Over  the  sand  he 
sprinkles  some  meal.  Some  bring  in  two  broken  jars,  I  think  from 
under  a  rock  a  few  hundred  yards  southwest  of  the  village.  I  under- 
stand that  these  shards  are  remnants  of  pots  and  jugs  in  which  snakes 
have  been  kept  on  former  occasions.  In  one  of  the  shards  suds  of 
yucca  roots  are  prepared,  into  the  other  one  clear  water  is  poured, 
whereupon  both  are  placed  on  the  floor  south-west  of  the  fireplace. 
The  water  is  taken  from  the  pots  outside.  These  preparations  are 
made  for  one  of  the  most  weird  and  unique  rites  throughout  the  cere- 
mony, the  washing,  or  baptizing,  of  the  snakes. 

Pri  nsely  at  noon  the  chief  priest  sends  one  of  his  men  to  announce 
that  all  Uu  the  village  must  retire  into  their  houses,  as  the  washing  of 
the  snakes  is  about  to  begin,  I  am  told  formerly  this  injunction  was 
very  promptly  and  scrupulously  heeded,  but  of  late  this  seems  to  be 
less  so.  ■  The  men  in  the  kiva  are  very  solemn.  When  all  is  ready, 
the  older  men  squat  down  on  the  north  side  of  the  sand  field,  two  or 
three  of  the  younger  men  on  the  south  side  east  of  the  ladder,"  two 
west  of  and  close  to  the  ladder  opposite  the  two  bowls  or  broken  jars. 
The  large  bag  with  the  snakes  is  brought  forward  and  placed  in  about 
the  center  of  the  kfva,  and  one  of  the  men  takes  a  place  near  by 
between  the  sack  and  the  bowl  with  the  yucca  suds.  All  except  the  two 
men  near  the  bowls  hold  in  their  right  hand  their  snake  whips.  Their 
attire  consists  of  the  snake  kilt  and  moccasins  only. 

When  all  is  ready,  the  man  near  the  sack  puts  his  right  hand  into- 
the  sack,  draws  forth  a  snake,  and  hands  it  to  the  man  opposite  the 


340      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

bowl  containing  the  suds.  He  dips  it  into  the  bowl,  and  holding  it  in 
one  hand,  draws  it  through  the  othei  and  then  hands  it  to  his  compan- 
ion, who  repeats  the  operation  with  the  reptile  in  the  other  bowl,  and 
then  places  it  on  the  sand  field;  another  snake  follows,  and  then 
another,  etc.  The  men  have  in  the  mean  while  lit  pipes  and  are 
solemnly  smoking,  handing  the  pipes  from  one  to  the  other,  exchang- 
ing terms  of  relationship.  The  snakes,  of  course,  try  to  escape,  but 
are  herded,  and  sometimes  pushed  back  with  the  whips.  The  smoke, 
drawn  from  the  pipes,  is  constantly  blown  towards  the  snakes.  But 
in  spite  of  all  these  measures  the  snakes  make  desperate  efforts  to 
escape,  not  only  the  racers  that  glide  and  shoot  swiftly  up  and  down, 
but  also  the  bull  and  rattle  snakes.  They  crawl  over  and  between  the 
nude  legs  of  the  men,  up  their  arms,  etc.,  so  that  it  often  becomes 
necessary  to  take  them  with  the  hand  and  lay  them  back.  As  the 
number  of  reptiles  increase  it  becomes  more  difficult  to  control  them 
and  keep  them  on  the  small  place  assigned  to  them,  and  for  a  time  the 
men  are  kept  very  busy.  The  snakes,  finding  all  their  efforts  to 
escape  frustrated,  finally  huddle  together  in  the  two  corners.  It  is 
simply  appalling  with  what  apparent  unconcern  those  men  handle  the 
reptiles.  My  notes  of  1896,  referring  especially  to  the  case  of  old 
NQvakwahu,  who  was  nearly  blind,  say: 

His  eyesight  is  so  poor  that  he  could  hardly  see  the  pipes  when 
they  were  handed  to  him,  and  the  men  had  to  touch  his  hands  with 
the  pipe  before  he  would  recognize  its  presence.  I  noticed  several 
times  a  number  of  snakes,  and  among  them  several  rattlers,  in  front  of 
the  old  man,  trying  to  get  by  him.  He  undoubtedly  could  see  their 
outlines  on  the  sand,  and  several  times  I  noticed  that  his  neighbors 
would  draw  his  attention  to  them.  Now  and  then  he  would  slowly 
but  unhesitatingly  stretch  forth  his  hand,  feeling,  as  it  were,  his  way 
among  the  snakes,  before  he  could  get  a  hold  of  them.  Several  times 
I  saw  two  or  three  rattlesnakes  raise  their  heads  and  draw  them  back, 
apparently  in  a  threatening  manner,  when  they  saw  the  hand  approach 
them,  so  that  I  expected  nothing  but  that  they  would  strike  at  any 
moment;  and  I  must  confess  that  the  question  so  often  asked,  "What 
antidote  do  the  Indians  use  against  snake  bite?"  seemed  very  insig- 
nificant and  of  much  less  importance  to  me  just  then  than  the  question, 
"How  is  it  possible  that  one  of  these  snakes,  that  is  taken  hold  of 
again  and  again,  and  with  such  recklessness,  does  not  strike,  and  that, 
when  from  forty  to  fifty  reptiles  are  confined  on  such  a  small  space?" 
In  several  instances  I  saw  the  snakes  coiled  at  least  partly  and  raise 
their  heads  and  draw  them  back,  apparently  ready  to  strike. 

The  theory  sometimes  advanced,  that  the  snakes  are  benumbed  or 


Nov.,  1903.        OrAibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  341 

drugged  is  entirely  unfounded.  Not  only  does  the  alertness  with 
which  the  snakes  move  about  speak  against  this  theory  and  snakes 
just  captured  are  handled  just  as  unconcernedly  as  those  which  have 
been  secured  before,  but  the  superstition  of  the  Indians  would  forbid 
them  to  subject  the  snakes  to  any  such  treatment  as  drugging  them, 
extracting  their  fangs,  etc.  But  how,  then,  can  the  mystery,  for  such 
it  must  appear  to  the  superficial  observer,  be  explained?  While  I  do 
not  pretend  to  be  able  to  fully  explain  the  matter,  I  offer  the  follow- 
ing suggestions:  (i)  The  repeated  handling  of  the  snakes  undoubtedly 
makes  them  more  or  less  gentle.  There  is  no  question  but  what  the 
priests  are  more  afraid  of  the  snakes  when  they  first  capture  them 
than  later.  One  of  them,  in  explaining  to  me  the  details  of  the  snake 
hunt,  emphasized  the  fact  that  they  at  once  commence  to  "tame" 
them  by  careful  handling  and  by  slowly  stroking  them,  and  when  I 
asked  him  why  so  very  seldom  one  was  bitten  by  any  snake,  he  said  he 
could  only  explain  it  by  the  careful  handling  of  the  snakes.  He  said 
they  never  hurt  the  snakes  and  hence  the  latter  became  used  to  them 
and  were  not  afraid  of  them.  He  compared  the  case  with  that  of  a  wild 
pony,  which,  when  first  caught,  would  "kick,,  bite,  and  jump,"  but  when 
repeatedly  and  carefully  handled  would  become  gentle;  (2)  The  snakes, 
being  often  touched  by  the  points  of  the  snake  whips,  become  used  to 
seeing  objects  over  themselves  and  to  being  touched  by  them,  and  hence 
do  not  find  it  so  strange  when  a  hand  reaches  towards  or  touches  them. 
It  must  be  added,  however,  that  if  this  point  explains  anything,  it 
does  so  to  a  limited  extent  only,  as  §nakes  are  brought  in  even  up  to 
the  last  days,  which  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case  have  been 
handled  but  very  little;  (3)  The  principal  explanation,  therefore,  does 
not,  I  IV:  lieve,  lie  in  the  frequency  of  the  handling,  but  rather  in  the 
manner  iA  which  it  is  done.  I  have  again  and  again  seen  the  snakes 
picked  up  in  the  kivas  and  on  the  plazas,  put  into  and  taken  out  of  the 
jars,  jugs,  and  bags,  not  only  in  Oraibi,  but  in  all  the  other  villages, 
by  the  old  experienced  priests  as  well  as  by  the  novices,  but  only  very 
seldom  have  I  seen  one  reach  after  or  grasp  a  reptile  with  a  quick, 
jerking,  hesitating  movement  of  the  hand,  and  even  on  those  few 
occasions  the  snakes  were  generally  trying  to  get  away,  at  least  they 
were  not  in  a  proper  position  to  strike  when  taken.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  the  movement  of  the  hand,  in  trying  to  take  a  snake  is 
slow,  gentle,  but  sure  and  unhesitating.  I  saw  old,  half-blind  NQvd- 
kwahu  reach  towards  several  snakes,  that  with  heads  raised  and  drawn 
back,  were  watching  the  approaching  hand,  and  that  probably  would 
have  struck,  since  they  were  at  least  partly  coiled,  had  they  noticed 
the  least  twitching  or  jerking  motion  of  the  hand;  (4)  Never,  at  any 


342      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

time,  have  I  seen  even  the  most  experienced  member  of  the  Fraternity 
try  to  take  a  snake  when  the  reptile  was  entirely  coiled  up.  They 
seem  to  be  convinced,  and  in  fact  have  told  me,  that  a  rattlesnake 
does  not  strike  unless  entirely  coiled  up  or  at  least  nearly  so.  If  a 
snake  does  coil  up  it  is  invariably  first  induced  to  uncoil  by  waving 
the  snake  whip  over  it. 

But  return  we  now  to  the  bathing  of  the  snakes.  One  has  fol- 
lowed the  other  until  all  have  gone  through  the  two  baths  and  been 
placed  on  the  sand  field.  When  the  snakes  see  that  they  cannot 
escape  they  finally  pile  up  in  the  corner  on  the  floor  and  on  the  ban- 
quette (see  PI.  19s),  enjoying  the  sunshine  that  falls  on  those  places 
through  the  hatchway  just  at  that  time.  Occasionally  one  tries  to 
escape,  especially  the  racers,  but  usually  one  or  two  boys,  who  are  left 
in  charge,  can  manage  them.  When  the  washing  is  completed,  the 
three  men  who  handled  the  snakes  carefully  wash  their  hands  and 
then  the  chief  priest  and  one  or  two  others  usually  utter  a  brief  prayer, 
whereupon  all  seat  themselves  around  the  fireplace  and  smoke, 
exchanging  terms  of  relationship.  The  snakes  are  left  in  charge  of 
one  or  two  of  the  small  boys.  In  1896  little  Hoveima,  who  was  then 
a  lad  of  about  ten  years,  herded  or  watched  them  alone  (see  A,  PI.  195), 
though  they  kept  him  very  busy  when  the  other  men  had  withdrawn. 

At  about  two  o'clock  the  snakes  are  replaced  in  the  large  bag, 
usually  by  the  men  who  bathed  them  and  the  boys  who  watched  them, 
afterwards.  Often  the  largest  ones  are  picked  out  and  put  into  the 
small  snake  bags  by  the  men.  I  have  seen  them  pick  out  several  of 
the  larger  ones  and  measure  them,  selecting  the  largest  they  could 
find.  Little  Hoveima  had  on  one  occasion  selected  a  large  bull  snake, 
which  he  was  trying  to  get  into  his  little  snake  bag.  Before  he  could 
close  the  bag,  the  snake  would  shoot  out  past  his  face,  which  elicited 
from  him  several  times  a  half-despairing,  "Icana!"  (Oh  my!)  Finally, 
however,  he  succeeded  in  subduing  and  confining  the  protesting 
reptile.  After  all  the  snakes  have  been  put  away,  all  wash  their 
hands  and  the  chief  priest  sweeps  up  and  carries  out  the  sand. 

The  washing  of  the  snakes  is  considered  by  the  snake  priests  to 
be  one  of  the  most  sacred  and  solemn  rites  of  the  whole  ceremony, 
and  has  been  witnessed,  as  far  as  I  know,  by  only  two  white  persons 
besides  myself.  Professor  Ehrenreich  from  Berlin,  Germany,  and  a 
government  employee  who  had  been  with  the  Hopi  for  a  number  of 
years.  In  both  cases,  however,  the  priests  acquiesced  in  the  presence 
of  the  men  only  after  arguing  the  case  a  long  time,  in  which  they  were 
so  serious,  that  in  the  case  of  the  last  named  gentleman,  the  washing 
took  place  over  an  hour  after  the  appointed  time,  and  even  then  they 


i^,':'"-- 


r'^^' 


PL.  cxcv. 
Herding  the  snakes  in  the  kiva  after  the  snake  washing. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   CXCV. 


LIBRAJ^Y 

OF'THE 
UNIVERSITV  of  ILLINOIS 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  343 

did  not  give  their  consent,  but  simply  dropped  the  matter  and  let  the 
man  remain,  though  under  protest.'  At  no  time  have  the  Oraibi  Snake 
priests  compromised  themselves  by  accepting  any  of  the  many  offers 
made  to  them  (either  directly,  or  through  the  author)  of  money,  shells, 
calico,  etc.,  for  the  privilege  of  witnessing  the  performance  in  the 
kiva.  All  such  overtures  have  consistently  met  with  positive  refusals 
by  the  Snakes.^  The  Antelopes  are  somewhat  less  conservative,  and 
have  on  several  occasions  permitted  parties  to  come  in,  even  to  do 
some  photographing.  In  the  other  villages,  especially  those  of  the 
Second  Mesa,  it  is  less  difficult  to  get  into  the  klvas  while  ceremonies 
are  going  on,  although  it  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter,  and  to  be 
had  for  the  mere  asking.  Everywhere,  however,  it  has  been  found 
that  the  Snake  priests  especially  objected  when  the  question  of  per- 
mitting a  woman  to  witness  their  klva  rites  was  raised.'  They  say 
women  are  especially  obnoxious  to  the  snakes. 

The  snake  washing  in  the  OrAibi  ceremony  varies  from  that  in  the 
other  villages  in  several  respects.  In  the  latter,  the  washing  itself  is 
done,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  by  older  members  of  the  Fraternity, 
in  Oraibi  by  the  younger  men,  one  of  them  in  one  case  being  a  novice. 
There  the  men,  especially  the  one  who  washes  the  snakes,  put  on 
parts  of  their  costume  that  are  typically  war  paraphernalia — such  as 
the  bandoleer,  hurunkwa  (a'peculiar  head-dress,  consisting  of  bunches 
of  feathers  of  different  birds  tied  to  two  hollow  sticks),  etc  ,  which 
is  not  the  case  in  Ordibi,  where,  in  fact,  these  two  objects  are  wanting 
in  the  Snake  costume,  although  the  members  of  the  Snake  Fraternity 
are  all  called  kal^htakas  (warriors).  Furthermore,  in  Ordibi,  the 
utmost  silence  and  solemnity  prevails  during  the  washing  of  the  snakes, 
while  in  all  the  other  villages  loud  singing  and  rattling  accompanies 
the  act.  These  facts,  in  connection  with  others,  for  instance  that  the 
older  Snake  costumes  are  said  to  be  made  of  material  taken  from  slain 
enemies,  especially  the  buckskin  wokokwawa  (big  belt),  that  the  spots 
on   the  bodies,  as  has  already  been  explained,  are  the  same  as  were 

'  In  the  case  of  Professor  Ehrenreich  I  obtained  the  permission  of  the  priests,  but  also  only 
alter  considerable  arguing,  and  after  throwing  into  the  balance  a  message  from  the  Indian  Agent, 
to  the  Chief  Snake  priest,  that  he  would  consider  it  a  personal  favor  if  they  would  permit  Professor 
Ehrenreich  to  enter  the  kiva,  as  he  had  come  from  such  a  long  distance. 

'  On  a  few  occasions  I  have  succeeded  in  taking  parties  into  the  kiva  when  nothing  special  was 
taking  place,  and  only  one  man  was  present,  whose  permission  I  obtained.  But  he  generally 
allowed  them  to  stay  in  the  kiva  only  a  few  minutes.  On  a  few  occasions  single  persons  have  also 
gone  into  the  kiva  themselves  when  the  men  were  away,  about  which  the  priests  complained  bitterly 
when  they  found  it  out  later. 

^  As  far  as  known  no  white  woman  has  ever  been  permitted  to  witness  any  rites  in  any  Snake 
kiva  with  one  exception:  In  igoi  the  Snake  chief  of  Mishongnovi  permitted  the  author's  daughter,  a 
girl  of  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  witness  the  snake  washing.  He  excused  the  exception  on  the  ground 
that  she  had  been  with  the  Hopi  a  long  time,  had  seen  many  of  their  secret  ceremonies,  and  could 
talk  their  Janguage. 


344      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

formerly  made  on  the  warrior's  body  before  he  went  into  battle,  etc., 
seem  to  leave  no  doubt  that  a  certain  relation  exists  between  the 
Snake  ceremony  and  perhaps  certain  war  ceremonies  that  may  formerly 
have  been  in  vogue,  but  just  what  the  nature  of  this  relation  is,  1  am 
unable  to  say.  I  am  told  that  in  the  old  time,  if  a  Hopi  was  slain  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Snake,  Coyote,  and  Burrowing  Owl  clans  to  hunt 
up  the  murderers  and  avenge  the  death  of  their  tribesman;  it  was  also 
in  a  general  way,  their  duty  to  serve  as  a  kind  of  police  force  in  the 
village,  watching  over  the  safety  of  the  village  chief  and  of  the  village. 
And  in  battles,  these  three  clans  are  said  to  have  been  in  front,  engag- 
ing the  enemy  with  war  clubs,  the  others  following  with  bows  and 
arrows. 

The  rest  of  the  afternoon,  to  the  time  of  the  public  performance, 
is  spent  in  putting  the  snake  costumes  in  order,  decorating  the  bodies 
and  dressing  up  for  the  public  performance.  The  body  decoration  as 
well  as  the  costume  has  already  been  described  in  connection  with  the 
ceremony  in  the  Antelope  kfva,  in  the  morning  of  this  day.  Both  are 
the  same  in  the  afternoon.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  occasionally 
the  costume  is  not  complete,  the  party  not  having  any  beads  or  a  fox- 
skin.  Sometimes  they  go  and  borrow  those  objects,  but  sometimes 
they  do  without  them. 

About  half  an  hour  before  the  public  performance  begins,  the 
chief  priest  takes  the  bag  with  the  snakes  out  to  the  booth,  placing  it 
on  the  ground  in  the  center  of  the  booth.' 

We  now  again  leave  the  Snake  priests  standing  in  line  at  the  west 
side  of  the  ladder,  whips  and  snake  bags  in  hand,  waiting  for  the 
announcement  from  the  Antelope  kiva  that  the  time  has  come  for  them 
to  go  to  the  plaza  and  repair  to  the  Antelope  klva,  to  record  briefly 
the  events  of  the  day  in  this  chamber  from  the  time  of  the  morning 
meal,  when  we  left  that  kiva,  up  to  the  time  of  the  mutual  performance, 
the  so-called  Snake  dance  on  the  plaza. 

One  of  the  first  acts  that  takes  place  in  the  Antelope  kiva  after 
breakfast  is  the  partial  dismantling  of  the  altar.  The  eagle  feathers 
are  taken  out  of  the  sand  ridge,  the  crooks  and  sticks  from  their  small 
pedestals,  the  contents  of  the  batfii  are  thrown  on  the  sand  mosaic,  in 
short,  everything  is  taken  up  except  the  following  objects,  which  are 
removed  later  in  the  day:  one  tiponi,  one  baho,  the  medicine  bowl,  a 
tray  with  sacred  meal,  one  netted  gourd  vessel,  one  corn  ear,  and  the 

'  In  1S96  he  had  forgotten  to  do  this,  which  I  noticed.  I  waited  until  they  were  standing  in  file 
ready  to  go  out,  and  then  told  him.  The  fact  caused  considerable  excitement  and  consternation, 
and  the  old  chief  said,  "  Ishohi,  nu  put  ka  hin  uuna!"  (Oh,  my,  I  did  not  at  all  think  about  it!), 
dropped  his  whip,  etc.,  grabbed  the  sack  with  the  snakes  and  rushed  with  it  to  the  plaza,  where  he 
deposited  it  in  the  booth. 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITVoflLLINOfS 


/ 


PL.  CXCVI. 

This  Plate  shows  the  Antelope  priests  partly  dressed  up  prior  to  the  public 
performance  on  the  eighth  day.  On  the  floor  may  be  seen  the  altar,  partly  dis- 
mantled, as  it  appears  in  that  day. 


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PL.  CXCVII. 
The  Antelope  dancers  in  line  on  the  plaza  (ninth  day). 


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PL.  CXCVIII. 

Chief  Antelope  priest  with  tiponi,  meal  bag,  and  rattle  and  asperger  with 
medicine  bowl  and  aspergill  (ninth  day). 


PL.  CXCIX. 

The  Snake  dancers  arriving  on  the  plaza  (ninth  day). 


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PL.  CC. 

The  Snake  dancers  describing  the  circles  in  front  of  the  booth  (ninth  day). 


.(YBb  ilji 


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PL.  CCI. 

Both  platoons  performing.    The  Snake  dancers  making  the  lateral  motions 
to  the  time  of  the  humming  of  a  song. 


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PL.  ecu. 

Both  platoons  performing ;  the  Snakes  dancing,  which  they  alternate  with 
the  humming. 


!iV. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  345 

long,  black  eagle  feather,  used  for  the  so-called  "nawuhchingwu" 
(absolving  or  discharming  rite),  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony. 
(See  PI.  196.) 

In  the  forenoon  the  bdhos  and  nakwdkwosis  that  were  made  by 
the  participants  on  the  previous  day  and  also  the  water  in  the  mongwi- 
kurus,  were  taken  by  them  to  their  field,  peach  orchards,  and  water- 
melon patches,  where  they  disposed  of  the  prayer  offerings  and  poured 
out  the  water,  bringing  the  vessels  back  to  the  klva.  The  baho  with 
the  long  "road,"  I  understand,  is  deposited  by  the  chief  priest  on  the 
east  side  of  the  mesa,  the  four  chochokpis  from  behind  the  long  medi- 
cine bowl  in  the  sand  ridge  by  Sihongwa  in  his  fields.  The  rest  of 
the  time  is  devoted  to  repairing  or  making  new  paraphernalia  for  the 
dance  costumes.  To  this  is  added  in  the  afternoon  the  work  of  deco- 
rating the  bodies.  These  decorations  are  as  follows:  The  bodies  are 
daubed  black,  but  only  a  very  thin  coat  being  applied.  The  face, 
hands,  and  feet  are  also  daubed  black,  the  chin  being  covered  more 
heavily  than  the  other  parts  of  the  body.  A  white  line  is  drawn  from 
ear  to  ear  over  the  upper  lip.  The  legs  below  the  knee  and  the  arms 
below  the  elbow  are  also  painted  white.  From  the  shoulder  to  the 
waist,  in  front  as  well  as  behind,  and  also  on  the  upper  arms  and 
thighs,  are  drawn  white  zigzag  lines,  which  are  called  lightning  marks, 
because  they  represent  lightning.     (See  PI.  197.) 

The  costume  of  the  Antelopes  consists  of  the  usual  dancing  kilt 
and  sash,  from  the  latter  of  which  a  foxskin  is  suspended  behind; 
furthermore  a  dark  blue  yarn  bandoleer,  moccasins,  beads,  and  the 
feather  head-dress  (tc6b-nakwa).      (See  PI.  199.) 

When  the  time  for  the  ceremony  has  arrived,  the  chief  priest  takes 
in  his  left  hand  the  tfponi  and  meal  bag,  in  his  right  hand  the  Ante- 
lope rattle,  the  sprinkler,  the  medicine  bowl,  and  aspergill  (see  PI.  198), 
and  all  the  others  take  their  rattle  only,  whereupon  they  proceed  to 
the  plaza  and  go  through  the  same  performance  in  front  of  the  booth 
as  on  the  previous  day.  When  they  have  made  their  four  circuits  and 
lined  up  in  front  of  the  kfsi,  the  Snakes  arrive,  the  chief  priest  carry- 
ing the  bow  natsi.  (See  PI.  199.)  They  also  go  through  the  same 
performance  as  on  the  previous  day  (see  PI.  200)  and  then  line  up. 
The  Antelope  priest  again  sprinkles  two  meal  lines  between  the  two 
platoons,  as  on  the  previous  day,  whereupon  the  Snakes  step  on  their 
line  and  pause  a  few  minutes.  Then  follows  the  humming,  with  side- 
wise  waiving  of  the  snake  whips  (see  PI.  201),  followed  by  the  louder 
singing,  accompanied  by  vigorous  dancing,  etc.,  in  the  same  manner 
as  described  in  connection  with  the  public  performance  of  the  previous 
afternoon.      (See  PI.  202.) 


346      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

When  the  singing  ceases,  the  Snakes  arrange  themselves  in  pairs. 
One  thrusts  his  snake  whip  behind  his  sash  in  front,  the  other  lays 
his  left  hand  on  the  left  shoulder  of  the  former  and  begins  to  stroke 
his  back  with  the  snake  whip.  (See  PI.  203.)  Both  then  move  with 
a  slow,  dancing  step  towards  the  booth,  where  the  first  man  kneels 
down  and  is  given  a  snake  by  a  man  inside  the  booth,  who  may  be  any 
one  of  the  participants.^  This  snake  he  places  between  his  teeth, 
grasping  its  body  with  both  hands;  both  move  slowly  around  in  a 
sinistral  circuit,  the  holder  of  the  snake  moving  it  and  also  stepping 
to  the  time  of  the  singing.  (See  Pis.  204,  205,  206,  and  207.)  In 
Oraibi  the  men  usually  take  a  hold  of  the  snake  close  to  its  head, 
while  in  other  villages  this  is  not  the  case.  In  fact,  the  handling  of 
the  snakes  in  the  public  performance  is  much  more  reckless  in  the 
other  villages^  than  in  Oraibi,  and  I  have  heard  men  from  other  vil- 
lages remark  on  and  laugh  at  the  careful  handling  of  the  snakes  by 
the  Oraibi  Snake  priest,  saying  that  they  do  not  consider  it  difficult  to 
perform  the  Snake  dance  in  such  a  manner.  The  Oraibis,  however, 
place  to  their  credit  the  fact  that  they  have  no  one  watching  the  head 
of  the  snake  as  is  the  case  in  the  other  villages. 

Every  dancer  drops  (see  PI.  208)  his  snake  after  a  few  minutes 
and  gets  another  one,  the  snakes  thus  dropped  being  picked  up  by 
another  set  of  men,  the  snake  gatherers,  who  throw  a  pinch  of  meal 
towards  the  snake  that  they  wish  to  pick  up,  just  as  the  dancers  do. 
(See  PI.  209.)  Some  of  the  snakes  are  dropped  towards  the  north, 
others  towards  the  west,  others  towards  the  south  and  east  of  the 
dancing  circle. 

I  have  been  told  by  a  Snake  priest  that  they  are  not  allowed  to 
expectorate  during  the  whole  performance  outside  of  the  kiva,  but 
have  to  swallow  any  sputa  that  may  collect  in  their  mouths,  even  while 
holding  the  snakes.  They  say  if  any  one  should  step  on  their  sputa 
or  in  any  way  whatever  come  in  contact  with  it,  he  would  be  affected 
by  the  peculiar  snake  charm;  i.e.,  some  part  of  his  body  would  swell 
up  and  if  not  discharmed,  burst. 

While  the  Snake  dance  is  in  progress,  the  sprinkler  asperges  the 
dancers  from  the  medicine  bowl  at  short  intervals.      The  other  Ante- 

'  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  Snake  men  that  formerly  the  snakes  were  kept  in  a  large  pot  instead 
of  a  sack,  and  that  no  one  handed  the  snakes  out.  He  stated  that  when  they  then  lilted  the  lid  to  get 
a  snake  they  would  sometimes  have  great  difficulty  in  keeping  other  snakes  from  getting  out  of  the 
vessel.  On  one  occasion  he  had  to  call  for  assistance,  as  he  could  not  control  the  snakes  and  get  the 
lid  on. 

'  I  have  there  seen  dancers  hold  two,  three,  and  on  one  occasion  even  four,  snakes  at  one  time 
between  the  teeth,  the  reptiles  intertwining  into  a  ball  as  it  were  in  front  of  the  dancer's  mouth.  On 
one  occasion  I  saw  a  snake  that  was  held  about  midway  of  its  length  trying  to  get  into  the  ears  and 
nose  of  the  dancer;  several  times  I  noticed  a  man  having  stuffed  a  small  snake  into  his  mouth  entirely, 
the  head  of  the  reptile  only  protruding  from  between  his  lips. 


PL.  CCIII.   The  Snake  Dance. 

The  Plate  shows  old  NQvakwahu  in  the  act  of  stroking  his  companion's  back, 
and  a  rattlesnake  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  dancers. 


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^, 


"* 


PL.  CCIV.    The  Snake  Dance. 

Two  dancers,  with  their  companions,  are  seen  on  the  plate  as  they  proceed 
in  a  circle  in  front  of  the  Antelopes.  It  sometimes  becomes  necessary  to  re- 
arrange the  position  of  the  snake  in  the  mouth  of  the  dancer  or  to  take  a  new  hold 
of  it.    The  first  dancer  shown  on  the  Plate  is  seen  in  the  act  of  doing  it. 


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PL.  CCV,   The  Snake  Dance. 

The  special  feature  of  this  plate  is  that  it  shows  in  the  case  of  the  two  dancers 
the  manner  in  which  the  snakes  are  generally  held  in  Ordibi,  which  differs 
from  the  manner  in  which  the  dancers  on  the  other  mesas  hold  them,  as  has  been 
more  fully  explained  in  the  text. 


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PL.  CCVI.   The  Snake  Dance. 
Several  dancers,  who  have  released  their  snakes,  are  seen  crowding  toward 
the  entrance  of  the  booth  to  receive  another  reptile. 


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PL.  CCVII.    The  Snake  Dance. 

Three  "  pairs  "  of  dancers  in  a  line,  little  H6veima,  the  youngest,  heading  the 
line.     All  aim  to  touch  the  plank  with  the  right  foot. 


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Pl.  CCVIII,    The  Snake  Dance. 
One  of  the  dancers  has  taken  the  snake  from  his  mouth,  and  is  ready  to 
release  the  same. 


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PL.  CCIX.    The  Snake  Dance. 
Sprinkling  sacred  meal  on  a  released  snake. 


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PL.  CCX.   The  Snake  Dance. 
A  snake  gatherer  in  the  act  of  picking  up  a  snake. 


UBRAHY 


PL.  CCXI.   The  Snake  Dance. 
Various  snake  gatherers  with  handfuls  of  snakes. 


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PL.  CCXII.   The  Snake  Dance. 
Women  waiting  with  sacred  meal,  to  be   sprinkled  on  the  ground  where 
snakes  will  be  thrown  in  a  pile  by  the  dancers. 


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PL.  CCXIII.    The  Snake  Dance. 

Maidens  with  sacred  meal,  which  is  to  be  sprinkled  into  a  meal  circle,  into 
which  the  snakes  will  then  be  thrown  to  be  grabbed  and  carried  away  by  the 
dancers.  (This  scene,  as  well  as  the  one  shown  on  plate  212,  is  from  Wdlpi,  as  no 
good  photograph  of  the  corresponding  scene  in  Or^libi  was  obtainable.) 


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UNIVERSITy  of  ILLINOIS, 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM.  ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.    CCXIV. 

A 


PL.  CCXIV.   The  Snake  Dance. 

A.  A  Snake  racer  arriving  at  the  kiva. 

B.  The  meal  circle  on  the  ground  into  which  the  snakes  are  thrown  in  a  pile 
after  the  dance. 


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PL.  CCXV.    The  Snake  Dance. 

Grabbing  the  snakes  from  the  meal  circle,  in  order  to  take  them  from  the 
mesa  and  release  them. 


I 


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PL.  CCXVI. 

A  dancer  returning  to  the  kiva  with  his  Snake  costume  after  having  released 
a  handful  of  snakes. 


bii 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  347 

lopes  sing  and  rattle,  moving  their  right  foot  slightly  forward  and 
backward,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  and  the  Snakes  danced 
backward  and  forward  on  the  previous  evening,  while  the  dance  with 
the  vine  bunch  was  in  progress.  When  all  the  snakes  from  the  kisi 
have  been  used,  the  dancers  take  from  their  bags  the  large  bull  snakes 
for  a  last,  culminating  effect,  as  it  were.  During  the  whole  time, 
while  the  dance  is  in  progress,  the  Antelopes  sing  and  rattle  and  keep 
moving  their  right  foot  forward  and  backward.  If  the  snake  gather- 
ers get  too  many  snakes  in  their  hands,  they  hand  some  to  the  Ante- 
lopes, especially  to  the  younger  members.  Sometimes  the  gatherers 
hold  as  many  as  four,  five,  and  even  more  snakeS  in  their  left  hand. 
(See  Pis.  210,  211.) 

As  soon  as  the  last  snake  has  been  picked  up  the  chief  Snake  priest 
goes  a  few  yards  north-east  from  the  dancing  place,  where  a  number  of 
women  and  maidens  are  standing  with  trays  containing  meal.*  (See 
Pis.  212  and  213.)  All  the  Snake  men  holding  snakes  hand  them 
to  the  Antelopes  and  all  follow  the  chief  priest.  The  latter 
sprinkles  a  meal  circle  on  the  ground  and  in  the  circle  the  six  cere- 
monial lines.  (See  PI.  214,  B.)  The  girls  and  women  then  throw  their 
meal  into  the  circle,  whereupon  all  who  hold  snakes  throw  them  on  one 
pile  into  the  circle: — a  horrible,  hideous,  wriggling  mass!  No  sooner 
has  the  last  reptile  been  thrown  down  than  each  Snake  dancer,  except 
a  few  of  the  older  men,  grab  from  the  pile  of  snakes  with  both  hands 
as  many  as  they  can  get  and  then  dash  with  their  handfuls  of  writhing 
reptiles  from  the  village  (see  PI..  215)  and  north,  west,  south,  and 
east,  those  running  to  the  last  three  points  down  the  mesa,  where  they 
release  the  snakes.  Before  they  return  to  the  village,  they  take  off 
their  snake  costumes  and  wash  off  their  paint,  water  having  been  taken 
out  for  that  purpose  beforehand  by  the  Snake  priests  themselves 
during  the  day. 

Their  costumes  they  wrap  up  in  their  blankets,  which  have  also 
been  taken  out  to  them,  and  take  them  into  the  Snake  kfva.  (See 
PI.  216.)  Those  Snake  men  who  do  not  take  away  snakes,  circle 
around  four  times  in  front  of  the  booth  again  and  then  enter  their 
kfva,  whereupon  the  Antelopes  do  the  same  thing,  laying  off  their 
paraphernalia  and  .washing  off  their  paint  upon  having  entered 
their  kiva. 

As  soon  as  the  Snake  man  has  taken  his  costume  into  the  kfva,  he 
comes  out  again  and  then  drinks  about  a  pint  of  emetic  that  women 
have  in  the  mean  while  brought  to  the  klva  from  the   Snake  maid's 

'  These  are  all  members  of  the  Snake  clan,  though  not  necessarily  of  either  the  Antelope  or 
Snake  Society.    The  meal  thrown  is  said  to  be  an  "Ahpa"  (bed). 


348      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol,  III. 

house,  where  it  was  prepared.'  (See  PI.  217.)  The  emetic  is  a 
decoction  of  a  dark,  greenish  color,  and  is  said  to  taste  bitter.  As 
soon  as  the  emetic  has  been  swallowed  the  men  kneel  on  the  edge  of 
the  kfva,  and  irritating  their  pharynx  with  their  fingers,  produce  pro- 
fuse vomiting.  (See  PI.  218.)  This,  they  say,  cleanses  them  from 
the  snake  charm  already  mentioned  so  that  they  can  again  associate 
with  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  village.  Yet  this  purification  is  not 
complete  until  they  have  gone  through  another  discharming  rite,  which 
will  be  described  presently.  After  having  vomited,  each  one  drinks 
some  of  the  water  from  the  jars  and  jugs  at  the  south  end  of  the  kfva, 
and  then  enters  the  kfva  and  sits  down  to  rest  or  to  smoke.  As  soon 
as  all  have  entered  the  klva  the  final  purification  ceremony  takes  place. 
All  participants  stand  around  the  fireplace  in  a  half-circle,  first  taking 
off  their  moccasins.  The  Chief  Snake  priest  takes  a  long  buzzard 
feather  in  his  left  hand,  a  pinch  of  ashes  in  his  right  hand,  and  all  the 
others  some  ashes  in  their  right  hand.  All  then  hum  the  nawuhchi 
tawi  (discharming  song),  waving  their  hands  slightly  up  and  down  to 
the  time  of  the  singing.  The  men  hold  between  their  left  thumb  and 
forefinger  a  pinch  of  ashes,  which  they  have  taken  from  their  right 
hand.  This  they  circle  from  right  to  left  four  times  at  a  certain 
point  of  the  song  and  then  throw  it  towards  the  hatchway,  the  chief 
priest  doing  the  same  with  the  feather  and  wiping  the  ashes  from  the 
feather  toward  the  hatchway.  He  sprinkles  another  pinch  of  ashes  on 
the  feather,  the  others  take  a  new  pinch  from  the  right  hand,  and  the 
same  performance  is  repeated  five  times,  corresponding  to  the  number 
of  verses  in  the  song.  After  the  last  stanza  all  beat  off  the  ashes  from 
their  hands,  rub  their  bodies  and  limbs  with  their  hands,  and  then  sit 
down  for  the  evening  repast,  which  the  women  have  in  the  mean  while 
brought  to  the  kiva  and  which  is  so  much  the  more  enjoyed,  as  none 
of  them  has  touched  any  food  or  water  since  the  previous  day. 

After  supper  the  kisi  is  taken  down,  usually  by  one  or  several  of 
the  young  men,  and  apparently  without  any  ceremony.  The  smaller 
branches  are  thrown  off  the  mesa,  the  larger  ones  they  sometimes  use 
for  constructing  the  booths  in  which  the  Hopi  watch  their  fields  in  the 
summer  months. 

The  altar  paraphernalia  are  wrapped  up,  and  later  in  the  evening 
taken  to  the  home  of  the  Snake  clan,  where  they  remain  when  not  in 
use.      Here  the  Snake  costumes  are  also  kept.^     The  Antelopes,  .upon 

'  The  emetic  has  thus  far  always  been  prepared  in  t,he  house  of  MacSngontiwa's  sister.  Two 
large  pots  are  filled  with  water,  the  herbs  are  tied  in  bundles  and  thrown  into  the  water,  and  the  whole 
is  boiled  for  several  hours.  It  is  said  that  formerly  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Snake  clan  stood  a  few 
hundred  yards  farther  west,  but  that  has  entirely  disappeared. 

'  In  the  other  villages  each  member  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  takes  care  of  his  own  costume. 


Jg^ 

^^w 


PL.  CCXVII. 

Women  bringing  the  emetic  to  the  Snake  kiva.     The  first  one  is  the  one  who 
boils  the  emetic. 


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PL.  CCXVIII. 
Exit,  snake  charm. 


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Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Sxake  Ceremony — Voth.  349 

having  re-entered  their  kiva  after  the  public  performance,  divest  them- 
selves of  their  costumes,  wash  off  their  paint,  and  then  most  of  them 
usually  do  some  smoking  until  food  is  brought  to  the  kfva  by  their 
families,  of  which  all  partake.  The  chief  priest  takes  down  the  rest 
of  the  altar  and  wraps  up  the  altar  paraphernalia,  which  he  takes  to 
the  ancestral  home  of  the  Spider  Woman  clan  later  in  the  evening, 
where  they  remain  until  the  next  winter  ceremony,  about  a  year  and 
a  half  later. 

THE  SNAKE  LEGEND. 

There  is  a  place  north  of  but  far  away  from  Ordibi  that  is  named 
Tokoonavi.'  At  that  place  lived  some  people  a  long  time  ago,  but  we 
do  not  know  of  what  clan  they  were.  They  lived  close  to  Picicva  (the 
Grand  Cafton).  One  young  man  often  sat  at  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
thought  and  thought  whither  all  that  water  was  flowing  and  whether 
people  lived  at  the  place  whither  it  was  flowing.  "I  will  go  and  see 
about  it,  anyway, "  he  said,  and  told  his  father  so.  His  father  con- 
sented. They  made  a  box  (boat),  and  the  father  made  many  bdhos 
and  nakwakwosis,  some  of  which  he  stained  red.  He  also  made  one 
long  chochokpi  (single  black  bdho).  When  all  was  ready  they  placed 
the  young  man  in  the  box,  also  some  food  and  the  prayer  offerings, 
and  then  closed  the  box,  leaving  only  a  small  hole  open.  They  then 
pushed  the  box  into  the  river  and  it  floated  down  stream.  Whenever 
it  would  run  against  the  bank,  the  young  man  would  put  the  long 
chochokpi  through  the  hole  and  push  the  boat  into  the  stream  again. 
After  a  while  he  came  to  a  place  where  the  river  widened  very  much. 
His  boat  ran  ashore  and  he  could  not  get  it  afloat  any  more.  So  he 
opened  it,  got  out,  and  saw  that  there  was  land,  and  also  much  water 
— the  ocean.  He  also  found  many  people  living  there.  At  one  place 
he  saw  a  hill  out  in  the  water.  That  was  the  house  of  Hurriiing 
Wiihti,  the  deity  of  such  hard  substances  as  beads,  shells,  coral,  tur- 
quoise, etc.  Presently  a  maiden  approached  him  that  was  very  pretty. 
She  told  him  that  they  had  heard  of  his  coming  and  were  glad  that  he 
had  come,  and  invited  him  to  follow  her  to  their  house.  They  entered 
a  bahtQwo,  "water  shield"  (a  flat  round  boat),  and  rowed  to  a  hill  in 
the  ocean,  that  was  clear  and  transparent,  where  there  was  a  kfva 
(underground  room),  from  which  a  ladder  was  protruding.  Here  were 
assembled  the  Snake  men,  who  hung  down  their  heads  when  the  two 
entered;  occasionally  they  raised  their  heads,  but  drooped  them  again. 
Finally  the  boy  gave  them  some  bahos  and  nakwakwosis.      Then  they 

*  Probably  the  Navajo  Mountains. 


350      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

were  very  happy  and  placed  the  prayer  offerings  on  their  altar.  They 
recognized  some  of  the  bdhos  as  having  been  made  for  Kohlcang  Wuhti 
(Spider  Woman),  and  told  the  young  man  to  take  them  to  her  house. 

The  man  remained  there  over  night,  sleeping  with  the  maiden  that 
had  received  him.  During  the  night  the  men  all  turned  into  rattle- 
snakes. When  the  young  man  awoke  they  told  him  not  to  be  afraid. 
All  then  went  out — the  young  man,  too — to  drink  (inhale)  the  morning 
light.     When  they  returned  to  the  klva  they  were  men  again.' 

Hereupon  the  maiden  took  the  young  man,  who  was  now  con- 
sidered to  be  her  husband,  to  the  house  of  Hurrding  Wuhti  (one  variant 
says  Kohlcang  Wdhti),  and  then  returned  to  her  kiva. 

In  Hurniing  Wiihti's  house  he  found  a  pretty  maiden  and  also  the 
altar  of  the  Blue  Flute  ■^  Society.  On  the  ladder,  leading  into  the 
house,  was  fastened  a  natsi  (society  emblem)  and  also  a  turtle  rattle. 
The  woman  asked  the  young  man  the  object  of  his  errand  and  he  told 
her  about  it  and  then  gave  her  some  bahos,  explaining  to  her  what 
they  were  for.  One  baho  was  also  for  the  sun.  She  asked  him 
whether  the  sun  was  low,  to  which  he  replied  in  the  affirmative.  She 
then  put  him  into  another  room,  as  something  "very  living"  was 
coming,  as  she  put  it.  Presently  the  turtle  rattle  on  the  ladder  rattled 
and  the  Sun  came  rushing  down  in  the  form  of  a  handsome  young 
man,  beautifully  painted  and  dressed  up  as  the  Flute  players  at  the 
Flute  ceremony  are  painted  and  dressed  at  the  present  day.  (See 
PI.  219.)  He  held  before  him  the  sun  and  prayer  offerings  that  he 
had  collected  from  the  good  people  as  he  passed  over  the  earth  in  his 
left  hand,  those  gathered  from  the  bad  people  in  his  right  hand.  The 
latter  he  threw  into  the  fire;  the  first,  he  handed  to  Hurriiing  Wuhti, 
who  placed  them  on  the  altar.  The  good  ones  asked  for  old  age,  good 
crops,  rain,  etc.,  the  bad  for  opportunities  to  have  intercourse  with 
women,  etc. 

Presently  the  Sun  Man  asked  the  woman  whether  she  had  anybody 
hidden  in  her  house,  saying  that  he  smelled  the  presence  of  some  one. 
She  admitted  that  she  had,  and  called  the  young  man  out  of  his  room. 
He  at  once  gave  some  bahos  to  the  Sun,  which  had  been  especially 
prepared  for  him.  The  latter  then  invited  the  young  man  to  accom- 
pany him  on  his  course  around  the  earth.  They  descended  into  an 
opening  behind  the  altar  and  then  sped  on  under  the  earth  towards  the 

'  One  variant  has  it  that  they  remained  snalces  that  day  and  the  following-night. 

'There  is  undoubtedly  a  confusion  here  in  the  narrative  as  given  by  the  different  informants. 
The  Blue  Flute  cult  was  brought  to  OrAibi  by  the  Spider  clan,  who  consider  Spider  Woman  to  be  their 
clan  deity.  Hurriiing  Wuhti  has  nothing  to  do  directly  with  .this  cult.  So  the  correct  version  and 
solution  of  the  confusion  undoubtedly  is,  that  the  young  man  saw  the  Flute  altar  in  the  house  of  Spider 
Woman,  but  had  the  experience  with  the  Sun,  and  received  the  beads  in  the  house  of  Hurriiing 
Wiihti.    In  the  Snake  narrative  on  the  other  mesas  both  deities  are  mentioned. 


PL.  CCXIX. 
Two  Flute  priests  in  full  costume. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.  CCXIX. 


Photo  by  G.  Wharton  James. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Sxake  Ceremony — Voth.  351 

east,  lighting  the  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  and  again 
gathering  their  prayers.  At  the  east,  where  they  arrived  towards 
evening,  were  many  suns,  that  change  about  in  making  the  circuit 
around  the  earth.  One  version  adds  They  also  met  first  the  Blue  and 
then  the  Drab  Flutes,  who  had  altars  and  played  on  flutes  here.  They 
stayed  over  night  here.  Towards  morning  some  one  '  lifted  up  a 
Idtayo  (a  grayish  fox)  and  the  qoyangwunuptu  (white  dawn)  arose. 
Soon  he  lifted  up  a  siKahtayo  (yellow  fox)  and  at  once  the  sikangwun- 
uptu  (yellow  dawn)  appeared,  and  then  the  sun  prepared  to  depart  (rise) 
again.  This  time  the  same  sun  rose  that  had  brought  the  young  man. 
The  sun  took  the  latter  on  his  back  and  traveled  the  whole  day, 
receiving  prayers — the  good  ones  during  the  morning,  the  bad  ones 
towards  evening,  arriving  at  the  house  of  Hurniing  Wiihti  in  the  even- 
ing.^ Having  disposed  of  the  prayer  offerings  as  the  evening  before, 
the  sun  again  descended  through  the  opening  behind  the  altar  and 
went  on  his  course.  The  young  man  stayed  over  night  with  Hurniing 
Wiihti,  sleeping  with  her  at  her  request.  She  had  many  beads — white, 
red,  and  turquoise — wound  around  her  arms. 

In  the  morning  the  young  man  found  that  she  had  turned  into  an 
old  hag.  He  then  said  he  wanted  to  leave  (according  to  one  version 
he  stayed  in  all  four  nights).  She  gave  him  two  (some  say  one)  of  all 
kinds  of  beads  and  also  seeds  of  corn,  melons,  etc.,  and  tied  every- 
thing up  in  a  sack,  charging  him  not  to  open  it  until  on  the  fourth  day 
after  his  arrival  at  his  home.  She  also  charged  him  not  to  sleep  with 
his  wife,  the  Snake  maiden,  while  on  the  way.  She  then  gave  him 
some  medicine  to  spurt  on  the  water  and  a  road  would  be  there  from 
her  house  to  the  Snake  kiva,  where  he  wanted  to  go.     So  he  left. 

On  the  way  he  encountered  successively,  a  large  wolf,  panther,  and 
snake;  the  name  of  the  fourth  animal  my  informant  had  forgotten, 
nor  does  he  know  whether  the  order  given  is  the  correct  one.  He 
subdued  them  all  with  the  medicine  and  entered  the  klva.  The  Snake 
chief  then  told  him  all  about  the  Snake  cult,  showed  him  how  to  pre- 

•  According  to  other  Hopi  traditions  the  Drab  Flute  Order  has  come  from  where  the  sun  rises 
(from  the  east);  the  Blue  Flute  Society  from  where  the  sun  sets  (from  the  west).  The  society  emblem 
of  the  first  is  a  yellow  fox  (sikAhtayo)  skin,  symbolizing  the  yellow  dawn;  that  of  the  Blue  Flutes  is  a 
grayish  fox  (latayo)  skin,  symbolizing  the  white  dawn.  Both  societies  put  up  these  emblems  outside  at 
their  nine-day  ceremonies.  Tradition  also  says  that  the  Flute  cult  is  still  continued  at  those  places, 
and  that  the  priests  put  up  these  emblems  as  mentioned  in  the  snake  legend,  but  instead  of  skins 
they  use  the  live  animals. 

*  One  variant  says  that  the  young  man  did  not  go  with  the  sun  the  first  time,  but  remained  with 
Hurniing  Wuhti  and  slept  with  her  that  night.  In  the  morning  he  found  her  turned  into  an  old  hag. 
They  both  sat  in  her  house  all  day.  When  the  sun  again  arrived  in  the  evening  his  arms  were  full  of 
blood,  and  he  said  that  the  people  on  earth  had  been  fighting,  some  of  them  wanting  another  sun. 
He  had  taken  part  in  the  strife,  and  had  slain  many  people.  Having  deposited  the  good  and  thrown 
away  the  bad  prayers,  he  washed  off  the  blood  and  then  went  on  his  course  again,  disappearing 
through  the  opening  behind  the  altar. 


352      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

pare  the  altar,  taught  him  the  songs,  etc.  He  also  told  him  that  they 
should  have  races  for  the  young  people  and  prepare  some  joy  for  the 
children.  Hence,  my  informant  adds,  they  now  have  the  races  and 
wrangles  for  the  corn-stalks  in  connection  with  the  snake  races.  The 
Snake  chief  also  told  the  young  man  that  there  they  raced  while  it  was 
raining. 

So  they  departed.'  On  the  way  the  beads  increased  in  the  sack. 
The  man  wanted  to  approach  his  wife  on  the  way,  but  she  compelled 
him  to  respect  the  injunctions  of  Hurniing  Wiihti,  which  had  been 
repeated  by  the  Snake  priests.  Having  reached  the  home  of  the  man's 
people,  the  sack  with  the  beads  was  put  into  an  inner  room.  The 
maiden  ground  corn  four  days,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day 
their  hair  was  washed  and  she  was  married  in  the  Hopi's  way  to 
the  young  man.  They  then  also  opened  the  sack  and  found  that  it 
was  entirely  filled  with  beads,  turquoise  ear  pendants,  etc.  They  also 
went  out,  and  after  the  young  man's  mother  had  washed  their  heads 
and  it  rained  (the  rain  coming  from  Picicva),  the  rain  also  washed 
their  heads. ^  The  contents  of  the  sack  they  distributed  among  their 
friends,  who  were  very  happy  over  the  beads.  The  young  woman 
then  always  prepared  food  for  the  people.  Her  husband's  father  and 
friends  made  the  bridal  costume  for  her.  When  it  was  done,  she  went 
to  offer  a  prayer  (kiiivato)  to  the  Dawn,  but  she  did  not  return  to  her 
parents'  house  as  is  now  the  custom. 

These  two  were  then  the  Snake  people,  the  man  being  the  Snake 
chief.  The  woman  by  and  by  gave  birth  to  young  rattlesnakes. 
They  laid  them  on  some  sand  to  dry.  The  grandfather  often  took 
them  in  his  blanket  and  carried  them  around,  showing  them  to  the 
people  in  the  houses  and  kivas,  because  he  loved  them.  They  grew 
up  and  became  Hopis,  but  bit  the  children  of  the  other  people  so  that 
they  died.  So  the  people  got  angry  and  drove  them  away.  They  first 
traveled  in  a  south-westerly  direction,  sometimes  staying  days  at  a 
place,  sometimes  for  a  year,  having  their  Snake  ceremony,  planting 
and  raising  a  crop  for  their  subsistence.  Thus  they  came  to  the  Little 
Colorado  River  and  followed  it  in  a  south-easterly  direction.  Here  one 
of  the  women  was  about  to  be  confined.  But  they  proceeded  when 
the  child  was  only  partly  born,  from  which  she  afterwards  received  the 
name  Tfkuiwuhti  (woman  with  the  protruding  child).     She  begged  to  be 

'  The  version  that  speaks  of  two  maidens,  says  that  they  all  three  went  up  the  Grand  Canon  in 
a  bahtuwo  (water  shield),  and  also  that  the  two  maidens  got  the  young  man  from  the  house  of  Hurru- 
ing  Wuhti,  not  saying  anything  either  about  making  a  road  to  the  Snake  kiva  nor  about  the  wild  beasts. 

"At  a  Hopi  marriage  the  heads  of  the  young  people  are  washed  by  their  respective  mothers-in- 
law,  and  also  usually  their  bodies  are  bathed,  whereupon  they  make  a  prayer  offering  to  the  dawn  and 
the  sun.    (See  Oraibi  Marriage  Customs,  by  H.  R.  Voth.) 


Nov.,  1903.       Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  353 

left  behind,  and  they  left  her;  later  some  of  them  returned,  but  found 
that  the  child  had  never  been  born.  Whether  they  found  the  woman, 
tradition  does  not  say.  But  it  says  she  is  still  there,  wandering  about, 
dressed  in  a  white  6wa  (bridal  robe),  or  according  to  others,  in  a  white, 
large  antelope  skin.' 

The  Snake  clan  then  came  to  Oraibi  and  asked  to  be  admitted  to 
the  village,  but  the  village  chief,  according  to  one  version,  refused 
them  admittance,  whereupon  they  moved  to  Wdlpi.  Another  version 
says  that  they  remained  in  Oraibi. 

THE  SNAKE   ANTIDOTE. 

Two  of  the  questions  most  frequently  asked  by  those  who  visit 
the  snake  ceremony  or  hear  about  it  are:  (i)  Do  the  snakes  ever  bite 
the  people?  (2)  If  snake  bites  occur,  do  the  people  possess  a  remedy 
against  the  poison? 

As  to  the  first  question,  it  is  certainly  astonishing  that  not  more 
snake  bites  occur  than  is  really  the  case,  especially  in  the  snake  cere- 
mony, where  so  many  reptiles  are  handled  in  so  many  different  ways, 
and  often  by  young,  inexperienced  boys.  But  the  author  is  personally 
acquainted  with  several  persons  in  different  villages  still  living,  and 
has  heard  of  others  (now  dead)  who  were  bitten,  either  during  the 
snake  ceremony  or  on  other  occasions.  More  will  be  said  about  this 
anon. 

Regarding  the  second  question,  much  has  been  written  about  an 
antidote,  which  is  said  to  be  known  by  very  few  in  the  tribe  only,  etc., 
and  strong  efforts  have  been  made  by  whites  to  discover  this  secret. 
If  any  one  has  been  successful,  I  have  failed  to  hear  about  it. 

The  antidote  used  in  Oraibi  was  revealed  to  the  author  by  a  snake 
priest  some  years  ago.  He  has  since  then  had  this  information  corrobo- 
rated by  several  others,  has  obtained  the  herbs  and  had  them  scientifi- 
cally identified ;  and  the  only  reason  why  the  results  of  these  researches 

*  Several  Hopis  claim  to  have  seen  her  when  hunting  on  the  Little  Colorado  River.  They  see 
her  campfire,  hear  her  long-drawn  moans,  see  the  horses  being  frightened  at  her  approach,  but  when 
looking  for  the  places  where  they  have  seen  her  fire  or  for  her  foot-tracks  they  can  never  find  any- 
thing. She  is  considered  to  be  the  deity  of  game,  and  some  say  also  of  children,  and  in  many  cere- 
monies prayer  offerings  are  made  for  her.  It  is  said  that  a  young  man  from  Shipaulovi  once  saw  her 
while  hunting  alone  near  the  Colorado  River.  Her  face  and  the  front  part  of  her  body  were  all  bloody. 
He  was  so  frightened  that  he  became  rigid,  whereupon  the  woman  had  sexual  intercourse  with  him. 
When  htf  revived  again  the  front  part  of  his  body  was  full  of  blood.  He  ran  and  came  upon  one  of 
his  companions.  Both  then  looked  for  the  woman,  but  could  find  no  trace  of  her  except  a  few  foot- 
prints for  a  short  distance.  But  it  is  claimed  that  ever  afterward  that  man  was  a  marvelously  success- 
ful hunter. 

In  W61pi  the  cult  of  or  for  this  deity  finds  expression  in  the  appearance  of  a  personage 
dressed  in  a  large  buckskin  at  certain  ceremonies.  My  informant  says  that  this  personage  gets  into 
the  houses  or  kivas  unobserved,  even  if  the  doors  of  the  houses  are  closed.  Her  presence  is  only 
detected  when  she  begins  to  moan.    She  is  also  known  as  Tuwiipongtiimci  (Sand-Altar-Clan-Sister). 


354      Field  Columbian  Museum — AJithropology,  Vol.  III. 

have  not  yet  been  published  is  the  delay  which  has  been  caused  by 
various  circumstances  in  the  publication  of  this  paper. 

Repeated  mention  has  been  made  in  the  course  of  this  paper  of 
the  herb  hohoyaonga  (Physaria  Newberryi),  which  is  used  during  the 
ceremony,  but  more  as  a  charm  than  as  a  "medicine."  This  herb  is 
also  used  in  case  of  a  snake  bite,  but  in  the  same  manner,  it  seems,  as 
in  the  ceremony;  i.e.,  not  so  much  as  a  drug,  but  rather  as  a  charm. 
Another  remedy  used  is  the  so-called  prayer-beetle  or  tumble-bug 
(Asida  rimata),  in  Hopi  hohoyaowu,  from  which  the  above-mentioned 
herb  derives  its  name.  This  beetle  is  either  eaten  raw  or  it  is  cooked 
in  water  and  the  liquid  administered.  Neither  of  these  two  remedies 
is  considered  to  be  a  secret,  and  almost  any  Hopi,  when  asked  what 
remedy  they  use  in  case  of  a  snake  bite,  will  rhention  them.  But 
usually  they  will  add  that  there  are  others  which,  however,  are  known 
to  the  Snake  Society  only. 

The  secret  antidote  consists  of  a  decoction  made  of  two  herbs: 
Masl  (gray)  lachi  (Suaeda  Torreyana  Watson)  and  pivdnnga:  weasel, 
medicine  (linum  rigidum  Pursh),  one  of  the  so-called  yellow  foxes, 
both  of  which  I  have  had  in  my  possession  for  several  years,  and 
since  being  acquainted  with  them  have  collected  myself.^ 

While  it  is  true  that  only  comparatively  few  Hopis  are  aware  of 
the  fact  that  these  well-known  and  common  herbs  are  the  jealously 
guarded  snake  antidote,  the  statement,  sometimes  seen  in  print,  that 
only  the  chief  priest  or  only  one  woman  in  the  tribe,  besides  the  Snake 
priest,  knows  this  secret  is  certainly  erroneous.  I  have  good  reasons 
to  believe  that  at  least  all  the  older  rhembers  of  the  Snake  Fraternity 
are  acquainted  with  it. 

The  names  of  the  herbs  were  first  given  me  by  one  of  the  older 
members  of  the  Snake  Society,  whom  I  had  befriended  on  various 
occasions.  He  also  brought  me  the  herbs  and  referred  me  to  an  old 
priest,  of  whom  he  knew  that  he  had  gathered  the  plants  on  various 
occasions.  He  begged  me,  however,  not  to  mention  his  name  to  any 
one.  When  later,  on  one  occasion,  this  old  priest  related  and  explained 
to  me  a  number  of  facts  concerning  a  certain  ceremony,  I  turned  the 
conversation  on  the  subject  of  the  snake  antidote.  He  stopped  short 
and  wanted  to  know  who  had  told  me  about  it.  I  replied  that  I  had 
promised  our  mutual  friend  not  to  divulge  his  name,  but  that  if  he  was 
really  as  great  a  friend  of  mine  as  he  always  claimed  to  be  he  should 

•  For  the  identification  of  these  plants,  as  well  as  for  other  courtesies,  1  am  indebted  to  Dr.  C. 
F.  Millspaugh,  Curator  of  Botany  of  this  museum.  Dr.  Walter  Hough  mentions  in  his  paper  on  "The 
Hopi  Relation  to  their  Plant  Environment"  (American  Anthropologist,  Feb.,  1897,)  a  "  mashilashi," 
which,  however,  he  identifies  as  solidago  missouriensis  \utt.  The  herb  piwa'nnga  1  had  also  iden- 
tified by  Prof.  F.  D.  Kelsey,  then  Professor  of  Botany  in  the  college  of  Oberlin.  Ohio,  and  he  also 
railed  it  linum  rigidum. 


Nov.,  1903.        Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  355 

tell  me,  as  I  wanted  to  find  out  whether  I  had  been  correctly  informed. 
He  hesitated,  said  that  that  was  very  sacred  to  them,  and  finally 
asked,  "Must  I  tell  you?"  I  repeated  what  I  had  said,  and  being  prom- 
ised that  his  name  would  not  be  revealed,  he  named  the  two  plants 
already  known  to  me.  In  a  similar  manner  one  of  the  leading  men  in 
the  Snake  ceremony  and  an  old  woman  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  sub- 
stantiated this  information.  In  no  case  did  I  first  mention  the  names 
of  the  plants,  but  led  them  to  do  so. 

As  to  the  antidotes  used  in  the  other  villages,  I  have  a  number  of 
notes  on  that  question,  and  the  names  of  several  plants  from  different 
sources,  but  I  feel  that  my  information  is  not  sufficiently  corroborated 
and  sifted  to  justify  me  in  making  positive  statements.  I  have  rea- 
sons to  believe,  however,  that  at  least  in  some  of  the  villages  an  herb 
— or  in  some  cases  perhaps  more  than  one — is  used  for  each  of  the  six 
cardinal  points,  the  colors  of  the  blossoms  corresponding  to  the  colors 
for  the  different  world  quarters.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  settle  this  ques- 
tion more  definitely  this  summer. 

The  following  two  facts  I  record  for  what  they  are  worth  at  pres- 
ent: (i)  On  one  occasion  I  questioned  the  Snake  chief  of  another 
village,  who  visited  me,  on  the  snake  antidote.  He  at  first  refused  to 
give  me  the  desired  information,  saying  that  that  was  so  sacred  that 
he  could  not  reveal  it.  Finally,  I  held  a  bunch  of  each  of  the  plants 
used  in  Oraibi  before  his  eyes.  He  first  stared  at  me,  and  then 
asked,  "Where  did  you  get  that?"  and  then  admitted  that  they  used 
those  herbs  too,  but  claimed  that  they  used-  them  in  connection  with 
others;  (2)  A  similar  experience  I  had  once  with  Kopeli,  the  Snake 
chief  of  Wilpi,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  only  he  did  not  commit 
himself  as  far  as  the  other  man.  After  repeated  efforts  to  induce  him 
to  tell  me  what  he  used  against  snake  bites,  I  intimated  that  I  believed 
I  knew  it,  and  that  I  had  in  my  possession  at  least  the  plants  used  in 
Ordibi.  He  challenged  me  to  produce  them.  I  did  so.  He  said  in  a 
half-joking  manner,  which  seemed  to  say,  "No,  I  say,  but  yes,  I 
mean,"  that  they  did  not  use  these,  but  the  very  manner  in  which  he 
said  it,  and  the  fact  that  he  then  became  serious  and  asked  me  not  to 
show  these  plants  to  any  one  nor  to  reveal  their  names,  led  me  to  sus- 
pect that  these  two  plants  form  at  least  a  part  of  the  antidote  used  in 
Wdlpi.  But  this  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  statement  of  a  fact,  but 
only  as  a  clue  to  further  investigation  in  the  other  villages. 

In  case  of  a  snake  bite  the  manner  of  proceeding  is  as  follows, 
although  it  may  vary  in  detail  in  the  different  cases,  according  to  the 
attendant  circumstances — the  place  where  it  occurs,  the  quick  access 
to  this  or  that  remedy,  the  opportunity  to  call  the  Snake  chief,  etc. 


356      Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

One  of  the  first  steps  usually  taken  is  to  suck  out  the  wound,  which, 
it  is  said,  is  more  efficacious  if  done  by  a  youth  or  unmarried  man. 
If  the  snake  can  be  captured  it  is  killed  and  cut  open,  in  order  to  find 
the  blood  which  the  reptile  is  supposed  to  have  extracted  from  the 
wound  and  which,  it  is  said,  may  be  found  in  the  snake  in  the  form  of 
a  dark  coagulated  clot.'  If  found,  it  is  not  taken  out,  but  the  body 
of  the  snake  is  pressed  and  stroked  in  such  a  manner  that  the  clot  is 
worked  upward  and  back  through  the  mouth  again.  If  that  can  be 
done  it  greatly  increases  the  chances  of  the  patient  to  recover. 
Another  of  the  very  first  steps  taken,  especially  if  the  bite  occurs  away 
from  the  village,  is  to  hunt  some  of  the  beetles  already  named,  which 
the  victim  eats  raw.  One  of  my  Oraibi  friends,  who  was  bitten  by  a 
rattlesnake  when  a  young  man,  has  told  me  repeatedly  that  others, 
who  happened  to  be  close  by,  quickly  gathered  a  number  of  these 
beetles,  which  he  ate,  but  he  shudders  when  he  speaks  about  it,  and 
says  they  tasted  very  bitter.  Sometimes  they  are  also  cooked  in  water 
and  the  liquid  is  drunk  by  the  patient. 

At  the  very  earliest  moment  the  Snake  chief  is  notified,  or  if  he 
be  absent,  one  of  the  older  men  of  the  Snake  Fraternity,  who  at  once 
either  sends  some  one  or  goes  himself  after  the  snake  medicine.  The 
patient  is  taken  to  an  uninhabited  house,  or  if  such  be  not  obtainable, 
to  some  kiva,  the  kivas  being  mostly  vacant  during  the  season  of  the 
year  when  snake  bites  are  most  likely  to  occur.  Care  is  taken  that 
the  sick  person  be  seen  by  as  few  people  as  possible,  and  that  he  be 
taken  from  the  sunlight  as  quickly  as  it  can  be  done.  When  once  in 
the  kiva  or  house,  the  treatment  begins  in  earnest.  The  Snake  chief 
takes  care  of  him.  Among  other  things,  I  believe,  he  chants  the  same 
snake  discharming  song  over  him  which  is  chanted  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  snake  ceremony,  and  which  he  also  sings  over  any  case  of  swell- 
ing which  is  believed  to  have  been  caused  by  the  snake  charm.  As 
soon  as  the  herbs  for  the  snake  antidote  arrive,  they  are  turned  over 
to  a  woman  of  the  Snake  clan,  who  has  either  never  had  any  or  has 
ceased  to  bear  children.  She  prepares  the  decoction  which  the  patient 
has  to  drink,  with  which  he  is  rubbed,  and  especially  with  which  the 
wound  is  washed  out.  For  three  days  he  is  not  allowed  to  drink  any- 
thing but  this  decoction,  nor  to  eat  any  food  except  what  has  been 
prepared  with  this  medicine.  Even  the  dough  for  the  usual  bread 
(piki)  is  prepared  with  it.  I  have  been  told  that  this  "diet"  becomes 
so  obnoxious  to  the  patient  that  frequent  and  profuse  vomiting  takes 
place.      And  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  effiqacy  of  the  medicine 

'  An  old  German  minister  told  me  lately  that  in  a  certain  part  in  Germany  in  case  of  a  snake 
bite  the  snake  was  killed,  and  the  "heart"  of  it— as  the  popular  belief  was — taken  out  and  laid  on  the 
wound,  which  was  then  tied  up. 


Nov.,  1903.       Oraibi  Summer  Snake  Ceremony — Voth.  357 

lies  more  in  the  fact  that  the  whole  system  of  the  patient  is  so  thor- 
oughly saturated  with  it,  than  in  the  medical  properties  of  the  plants 
as  such. 

For  three  days  the  patient  is  not  permitted  to  associate  with  any 
one  except  those  who  treat  him  and  take  care  of  him;  generally,  I 
believe,  only  the  Snake  priest  and  the  woman  who  prepares  the  food. 
On  the  fourth  day  he  washes  his  head  in  suds,  made  of  water  and 
crushed  roots  of  the  yucca  plant,  whereupon   he  returns  to  his  home. 

There  seems  to  be  a  deep-rooted  conviction  among  the  members 
of  the  Snake  and  Antelope  Fraternities  that  they  are  immune  from  the 
effects  of  snake  poison  and  from  the  snake  charm  while  they  are 
engaged  in  the  ceremony.  One  of  the  Snake  priests,  now  an  old  man, 
was  once  struck  by  a  rattler  while  he  ran  with  handfuls  of  snakes  from 
the  plaza  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony.  He  says  he  held  the 
snake  about  midway  of  the  body,  and  it  swung  back  its  head  and 
struck  him  in  the  hand.  A  young  man  was  bitten  on  the  plaza  a  few 
years  ago,  which,  however,  I  did  not  find  out  until  lately.  A  third 
man  told  me  that  he  was  once  bitten — I  think  he  said  while  trying  to 
take  a  snake  from  the  pot  in  the  booth.  It  has  already  been  stated 
on  a  previous  page  that  formerly  the  snakes  were  kept  in  a  covered 
pot  instead  of  a  sack  on  the  plaza.  In  none  of  these  cases  was  any 
special  treatment  resorted  to,  because,  I  was  told,  that  was  not  con- 
sidered necessary  in  the  case  of  members  of  the  Fraternity  during  the 
time  of  the  ceremony.  Of  course  such  immunity  is  claimed  only  for 
those  whose  "hearts  are  good";  where  this  essential  quality  does  not 
exist  the  bite  of  a  venomous  reptile  may  prove  just  as  dangerous,  and 
even  fatal,  as  in  the  case  of  any  other  mortal. 

At  any  other  time  except  during  the  ceremonial  days  the  members 
of  the  Antelope  and  Snake  Fraternity  seem  to  be  just  as  much  afraid 
of  a  rattlesnake  as  other  people.  On  several  occasions  it  so  hap- 
pened that  a  member  of  the  Snake  Fraternity  was  near  by  when  a 
rattlesnake  was  found  near  the  mission.'     I  challenged  them  to  pick 

'  I  have  frequently  been  asked  whether  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Hopi  kill  so  few  snakes  the 
country  around  the  village  does  not  abound  in  them.  1  do  not  think  that  there  are  more  snakes  there 
than  we  found  for  instance  in  Kansas  when  we  settled  there  in  1874.  Still  we  generally  kill  from  four 
to  six  rattlers  close  to  the  mission  house  nearly  every  summer,  ."^nd  in  order  to  show  that  a  rattle- 
snake does  not  strike  very  quickly  I  may  cite  a  few  special  cases.  One  time  our  little  boy,  then  about 
two  years  old,  had  been  playing  near  a  bush,  when  all  at  once  a  rattler  crawled  away  only  a  few  feet 
from  the  child.  On  another  occasion  my  wife  stepped  over  some  dry  weeds  near  the  house,  and 
almost  on  two  rattlesnakes  that  were  lying  there  partly  coiled  up.  At  another  time  our  daughter 
stepped  through  the  door  from  the  house,  the  threshold  being  about  six  or  eight  inches  from  the 
ground.  The  little  boy  about  two  years  old  followed  her,  putting  one  foot  after  the  other  very  slowly 
over  the  threshold.  I  followed  immediately  after,  and  turning  around  saw  a  rattlesnake  completely 
coiled  up,  apparently  ready  to  strike,  not  more  than  one  inch  from  the  place  where  the  feet  of  the 
little  fellow  had  touched  the  ground.  Had  he  touched  the  reptile  the  latter  would  in  all  probability 
have  struck.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  among  people  who  have  had  some  experience  with  rattlesnakes 
that  they  will,  as  a  rule,  give  timely  warning  with  their  eyokingpi  (bell),  as  the  Hopis  call  the  rattles. 


358       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  III. 

it  up,  which  they  very  emphatically  refused  to  do,  saying  that  if  they 
touched  a  snake  while  they  (the  Snake  Fraternity)  were  not  "assem- 
bled" they  were  just  as  liable  to  be  bitten  as  any  other  person.  On 
one  occasion  I  requested  an  Antelope  priest  to  pick  up  a  rattler,  which 
he  very  positively  refused.  I  then  struck  the  snake  a  blow,  picked  it 
up,  and  followed  my  friend  with  it.  He  kept  at  a  respectful  distance 
and  when  I  began  to  run  after  him  and  to  throw  the  reptile  after  him, 
he  dashed  away  and  screamed,  evidently  in  genuine  fear,  crawled 
through  under  a  wire  fence,  and  ran  away  as  fast  as  his  legs  would 
carry  him,  for  fear  of  being  influenced  by  the  pernicious  charm  of  the 
snake. 

whenever  they  have  time  to  do  so;  or  they  will  try  to  escape  rather  than  to  fight  where  they  have  their 
choice,  and  even  when  coiled  up  and  cornered  they  will  be  slow  to  strilce  the  fatal  blow.  I  have 
repeatedly  provoked  a  rattlesnake,  caused  him  to  coil  up,  touched  him  with  some  object,  and  have 
been  astonished  how  slow  he  is  to  strike.  Of  course,  these  facts  notwithstanding,  it  would  not  be  safe 
to  trust  him  too  far.  When  I  was  in  charge  of  an  Indian  boarding  school  in  Oklahoma  a  little  boy, 
while  playing  with  others,  ran  towards  a  haystack,  stooped  down  to  pick  up  a  corncob,  was  struck  by 
a  rattler,  and  died  after  fourteen  hours.  It  was  late  in  the  fall,  and  the  Indians  there  claimed  that  the 
vision  of  the  snakes  was  getting  to  be  dim  at  that  time  of  the  year,  and  hence  they  would  strike  more 
readily  than  if  they  could  see  well. 


P.  S.  It  has  been  mentioned  in  this  paper  (see  page  310)  that  thus  far  nq  songs  of  the  Snake  Cere- 
mony had  been  obtained.  But  since  that  was  written  the  author  has  succeeded  to  obtain  for  the  Mu- 
seum, by  the  use  of  a  phonograph,  many  Hopi  songs,  and  among  them  several  Snake  songs,  prayers, 
etc.,  which  will  in  all  probability  be  published  in  connection  with  other  songs.        The  Author.     < 


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